Five-Star Collection... Dave Brubeck

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Gone With The Wind

A good deal has been said in print about the merits of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, what it stands for in relation to jazz, what it has contributed to the facade of jazz, etc., and as you listen to the easy flow of melodic lines and the development of each standard composition in this recording, you will know that this is the Quartet at its best. We feel that the music speaks for itself, and that no words need be said here by way of explanation.

From the very first take, we all knew that this was going to be a swinging session, and it was. I believe it is significant that three-fourths of the compositions contained herein are "first-takers", if I may coin a word. On listening to the first play-back by Dave and the group, the comment would almost invariably be: "That's it! Let's make the next one". This happened throughout the entire session in the studio, until it was time to leave for Dave's evening concert at Orange Grove College in Costa Mesa, California, where we also recorded.

Some of the compositions that were used as a basis for improvisation here were played by the group for the first time at the recording studio, and in several cases the arrangements you hear were not previously planned, but worked out spontaneously while recording.

*Teo Macero (from the liner notes)*

The Dave Brubeck Quartet is swinging these days. This is common knowledge. Here is an album that has captured this particular aspect of the group very well. There are interesting solos passages, in particular a delightful percussion excursion by Joe Morello on "Short'nin' Bread" and a fine long bass solo by Gene Wright on "Ol' Man River". Paul Desmond plays throughout with his usual melodic intensity, shimmering tone and long, swooping lines. There's more solid jazz content in this LP than is usually granted Brubeck, yet it is still the middle-of-the-road modern jazz that has the strongest appeal to the layman. As an introduction to Brubeck's work and as a fair sampling of him in his swinging, or recent period, this LP ranks high.

*Ralph J. Gleason (HiFi Stereo Review, November, 1959)*

It has often been noted that since the addition of Morello and Wright, the Brubeck group has swung more; this LP is the best example so far of this freedom and swing. In this collection of southern songs, the quartet achieves a looseness and rapport of greater degree than their previous albums. And how these men listen to each other!

A few words about Brubeck's playing might be in order at this point. Dave has been severely criticized in the past for his heavy handedness, but little has been said about the man's harmonic concept, his remarkable sense of time, and his ability to construct solos with a beginning, middle, and end. Some of these heaviness remains, but it is overshadowed now by these positive qualities. All of these facets of the Brubeck talent are very much in evidence in this album, especially on "The Lonesome Road" and "Georgia On My Mind".

Desmond is his usual eloquent self, displaying a virility in some of his work that has been lacking sometimes in the past. Wright provides solid support throughout and does a good job on River, his featured spot. Morello cooks all the way, using brushes most of the time. His wit and humor shine throughout the LP, but they shine the brightest on Bread in which he plays "melody".

This is a happy, swingin' LP lacking in pretentiousness and played by a group of men who obviously enjoy their work and each other. *Don DeMichael (Down Beat, October 1, 1959 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Swanee River

(Stephen Foster)

2 - The Lonesome Road

(Gene Austin, Nat Shilkret)

3 - Georgia On My Mind

(Stuart Gorrell, Hoagy Carmichael)

4 - Camptown Races

(Stephen Foster)

Side 2

5 - Camptown Races

(Stephen Foster)

6 - Short'nin' Bread

(Traditional)

7 - Basin Street Blues

(Spencer Williams)

8 - Ol' Man River

(Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)

9 - Gone With The Wind

(Hebert Magidson, Allie Wrubel)

Dave Brubeck (piano), Paul Desmond (ato sax), Gene Wright (bass), Joe Morello (drums). 

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, April 22 (#1, #2, #3, #7, #9) and 23 (#4, #5, #6, #8), 1959

Liberty Records • Jazz in Hollywood Series (XII)

Red Norvo • In Hi-Fi

Vibe-Rations

✤Liberty (LJH 6012)✤

That Red Norvo now wears a beard (which makes him look somewhat like one of Saul Steinberg's cats) has nothing whatever to do with his having been born Kenneth Norville about forty-seven years ago in Beardstown, Illinois, but it is symbolic of his standing as one of the evergreen geniuses of jazz; Red was in Chicago in the late twenties when Eddie Condon and that bunch were, and although it was difficult for him to wheel his instrument, then the xylophone (Red says "zillaphone"), to the sessions at which they drank bad gin and played much music that was probably almost as bad but sounded great partly because it was fresh and exciting (and partly 

because of the gin), he nevertheless won the respect of all, even that of the staid Goodman, who later hired him when he was between combinations of his own; and at the risk of challenging the Times' Gilbert Millstein's title of World's Longest-Opening-Paragraph Writer, I must add that Red continued to grow and grow until the kids who play progressive began to pay strict awestruck attention to his work on the vibes (which replaced the "zillaphone"), a continuing homage which he has acknowledged by uttering the beard. 

Few other musicians can make that claim, let alone that transition. 

⁂

I don't want to talk about the music except to say that it is strikingly representative of the personality of its creator: I am no musician, and it speaks for itself, swinging with lightness of touch beautifully fitting for the profound and humorous imagination that conceives it. I have spent the happiest times I've ever had with jazz listening to Red Norvo play, and I have had some of the happiest times I've ever had with another human being listening to Red Norvo talk. I want to talk about Red the human being: 

In the summer of 1956 when I was in Hollywood on some magazine jobs, I went to hear him (Norvo) every night I could make it at Ken Brown's place in Santa Monica. I would sit there marveling as he played "Rhee! Oh Rhee!" (my favorite) and the rest, and between sets we would sit around and talk about the days seven or eight years ago when he was playing at the Embers in New York and after hours hd and I and Eddie Condon would go to a Chinese restaurant where the proprietor would bring us a teapot full of what Condon always called "slant-eyed whisky". After the playing and reminiscing were over – I'm talking about the Hollywood visit again – Red and I would go out somewhere and eat. One night I noticed that he was strangely quite. I didn't want to ask what was wrong. He is sometimes shy, I thought this was one of his shy nights, and he couldn't bring himself to say much (in that Embers period, he often thought of more to say than some of us felt was necessary; but he had not yet gone on the wagon, then) We ate, said good night, and he went over to his house in Santa Monica and I went back to my hotel. The next evening he apologized. He said, "I'm sorry for being so quiet last night. We had to take our little boy to the hospital yesterday. It was sort of serious. I started to tell you about it but then I knew you'd worry and I didn't want to spoil your evening".

That is one side of him. Adjectives may now be filled in at random, and all the noble one will do.

⁂

That's Red. Here, on these selections, is the man's music. He has augmented his trio with Jack Montrose, who plays tenor, second flute and clarinet; Bob Drasnin, first flute: Bill Kosinski, English horn; and Bill Douglass, drums. Eugene Wright plays bass, and Bill Dillard, who was burned to death a few weeks after these sides were recorded, is the guitarist and composer, with Red, of "Rhee! Oh Rhee!" and "Porsche". 

Like everything else about Norvo, they are remarkable, and it is my great pleasure to commend them to everyone who loves jazz. *Richard Gehman (liner notes)*

On Vibe-Rations, Red's associates are the late Bill Dillard, guitar; Jack Montrose, tenor, clarinet, flute; Robert Drasnin, flute; Bill Kosinski, English horn; Gene Wright, bass; Bill Douglass, drums. The rhythm section has the rare combination of pulsating sureness and a light, ensemble-conscious, fluid, knitted sound. Dillard's loss was obviously a great one. He plays here with impressive warmth, ideas, and time. Red himself is, as always, youthfully imaginative and a marvelously relaxed master of the vibes. At 47, he remains a musician who transcends stylistic lines. His contributions to jazz have been many and major. He is the best and the most personal soloist on the date. Montrose blows good, vigorous tenor, Drasnin's flute is skilled but lacks funk. Kosinski makes his assignments. Chief liability of the set are the anemic arrangements, most bloodless in the rather wispy ensemble sound, and the rather routine nature of the ensemble figures. The date would have been more successful either as a straight blowing session or with more challenging frameworks. Anyway, it's worth owning for Red, the rhythm section, and Dillard. Good, pointed notes by Dick Gehman, and fine sound. *Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, December 12, 1956)*

Side 1

1 - Sweet Georgia Brown

(Bernie, Pinkard, Casey)

2 - It Could Happen To You

(Burke, Van Heussen)

3 - All This And Heaven Too

(DeLange, Van Heusen)

4 - Fascinatin' Rhythm

(G. and I. Gershwin)

Side 2

5 - Rhee! Oh! Rhee

(Dillard, Norvo)

6 - Get Out Of Town

(Cole Porter)

7 - Ship Without A Sail

(Rodgers, Hart)

8 - Porsche

(Dillard, Norvo)

Red Norvo (vibes), Jack Montrose (tenor sax, clarinet, flute), Robert Drasnin (flute),

Bill Kosinski (English horn), Bill Dillard (guitar), Gene Wright (bass), Bill Douglass (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, May 21 [#1 to #4, #6, #7] and May 28 [#5, #8], 1956

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.