Crotty, Corman & Phipps Jazz Trio

Trio CD now available from CDBaby! Nine standards and two originals, glorious digital sound, and it can be yours. Cool cover art of the band by artist Joe Leon.

Nice reviews from Doug Ramsey and Jazz.com. Here's one from Oscar's Place:

Guitarist Tony Corman leads a trio with Ron Crotty on bass and Frank Phipps on bass trumpet. There are no drums or piano and they aren't missed. This is an elegant combo that would serve well in the background or foreground for a sophisticated gathering. They play nine popular standards and two originals, Corman's "Rosa Rugosa" and "Ron's Muse" by Phipps. Highlights are "How Deep Is The Ocean" and "But Beautiful." Frank's melodies are warm and brassy, sweeter than a trombone but with more guys than a standard trumpet. This is great listening music!

We're a drummerless jazz trio, with Ron Crotty on bass and Frank Phipps on valve trombone. You already know me. Here's a bit about the other two cats:

Bassist Ron Crotty was a member of popular pianist Dave Brubeck's earlier groups, including both a trio and a quartet. Born in San Francisco, Crotty is often associated with jazz happenings in the hilly city. One of the most famous independent recording labels from San Francisco, Fantasy, made an album of Crotty's own trio a reality and called the LP Modern Music from San Francisco. Tracks from this session, featuring the participation of Latin jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, also made it onto a Fantasy compilation entitled The Jazz Scene: San Francisco. Since 2004, Crotty worked a series at the Oakland Museum with a shifting cast of pianists, including the ecstatic Bliss Rodriguez. Here's a photo of young Ron (second from left) with Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond and Cal Tjader:

Frank Phipps plays a variety of tenor-range valved instruments, including euphonium and bass trumpet. He's recorded with Larry Baskett and was playing jazz in Norway in the 60s with Jan Garbarek and visiting American greats. He's a wonderful, melodic, swinging improvisor. Here's a photo of young Frank playing with Jan Garbarek, from a Norwegian jazz web site:

Fra venstre: Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen, Arild Andersen og Frank Phipps. Oslo, 1967. Foto: Arthur Sand.

A few tracks recorded live at Anna's Jazz Island: