Buddy DeFranco - Pretty Moods

Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco was born in Camden, New Jersey (February 17, 1923). He was raised in South Philadelphia. He was playing the clarinet by the time he was nine years old and within five years had won a national Tommy Dorsey swing contest. 

He began his professional career just as swing music and big bands — many of which were led by clarinetists like Artie Shaw, and Benny Goodman — were in decline. While most jazz clarinet players did not adapt to this change, DeFranco successfully continued to play clarinet exclusively, and was one of the few bebop clarinetists. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1950, DeFranco spent a year with Count Basie's septet. He then led a small combo in the early 1950s which included pianist Sonny Clark and guitarist Tal Farlow. In this period, DeFranco recorded for MGM, Norgran and Verve; the latter two labels were owned by Norman Granz. Buddy died in December 24, 2014.

Buddy De Franco is one of the few, and, in fact, quite possibly the only new name to be accorded giant recognition on the clarinet. I think possibly that the only things that have held him back have been, in certain cases, choice of material and lack of quantitative output, because the quality was always there no matter what Buddy played.

It is also true that any great artist in any art form must be able to do all things. The jazz artist must be able to create; to play different tempi, all of them with equal facility and creativeness; to create different moods — happy ones, sad ones, blue ones; and to operate, as it were, under different musical conditions. He must in short have adaptability.

Well, this album displays another facet of Buddy De Franco's tremendous artistic ability. For the first time, Buddy produces ballads with the melodic line primary, and the result is a rewarding one — for the composition, for the listener, and, yes, for De Franco himself, because it represents another step upward in his growth. 

This album is another in the series designed to make the jazz audience increasingly aware of Buddy De Franco's rich and many contributions to the jazz scene. *Norman Granz (liner notes)*

Buddy DeFranco with Sonny Clark on piano — an early classic in the wonderful run the two players cut for Verve Records — a key chapter in jazz during the early 50s ! Buddy's clarinet has these wonderfully angular turns here — very different than the generation before, and spurred on by some new bop modes from Clark's work on the keys. The format is lean, clean, and extremely tight — some of the best jazz clarinet work of the time, and proof that the instrument could have a life long after the swing years had ended. Other players include Bobby White on drums and Gene Wright on bass — and the whole thing's packaged in a sweet David Stone Martin cover ! Titles include "Lover Man", "Yesterdays", "If I Should Lose You", and "Deep Purple". *dustygroove.com*

1 - Tenderly

(Lawrence, Gross)

2 - Lover Man

(Davis, Ramirez, Sherman)

3 - Deep Purple

(DeRose, Parish)

4 - Yesterdays

(Kern, Harburg)

5 - If I Should Lose You

(Rainger, Robin)

Buddy DeFranco (clarinet), Sonny Clark (piano), Gene Wright (bass), Bobby White (drums).

Recorded at Fine Sounds, New York City, April 7, 1954.