The Ruby Braff - George Barnes Quartet - Live in Berlin, 1975

L-r: Wayne Wright (rh g), Michael Moore (b), Ruby Braff (co), George Barnes (lead g)

In the spring of 1973 Ruby Braff and George Barnes had started a new group. They rehearsed once a week and it became a very special little quartet. They increased their number of weekly rehearsals to get ready for a concert at Carnegie Hall for the opening night of the New York Newport Jazz Festival. They became the highpoint of that festival. The group stayed together until some time in 1975 when Braff had a fall out with George Barnes.

Ruby Braff

George Barnes and Ruby Braff recorded five albums under their own name and a Rodgers & Hart tribute with Tony Bennett. The quartet toured the U.S. and Europe, collecting fans and receiving accolades from the press. But an increasing acrimony between the co-leaders took its toll on George’s health, and the quartet split up after their 1975 European tour.

George Barnes

From the 1975 European tour video recordings of the quartet's live concert in Berlin have been saved and uploaded at YouTube. Below I'll insert some examples from this concert in remembrance of a truly magnificent mainstream jazz quartet. - Here is first the quartet's version of the well known standard Sugar

Next, here is the quartet's version of Gershwin's Liza 

Another Gershwin tune, Summertime, also had a reading at the concert

Wayne Wright

It's George Barnes who plays the guitar solo parts, while his instrument colleague, Wayne Wright, takes care of a solid rhythm accompaniment togeter with double bass player Michael Moore, here the quartet plays the tune But not for me 

Michael Moore

Ruby Braff on cornet and double bass player Michael Moore have great interplay in the interpretation of Ellington's In my Solitude 

The last video recording from the 1975 Berlin concert featuring the Ruby Braff - George Barnes quartet to be inserted here has the quartet's version of Gershwin's They can't take that away from me

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Jo

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