Hall subsequently recommended Canadian guitarist Ed Bickert, who was just starting to establish himself, having worked with Moe Koffman and Phil Nimmons. Having cut a handful of sides for RCA with guitarist Jim Hall in the mid '60s, when Desmond entered the Van Gelder studios in the fall of 1974, his intent was to return to the earlier guitar-based quartet format. A sagacious choice of material marked the stellar Summertime (A&M, 1969) and the Brazilian tinge of From the Hot Afternoon (A&M, 1969) fit Desmond's pensive style to a tee. Although some critics pooh-poohed the results of these sessions, there's a wealth of beautiful music to be found in the catalog. During his 17 years with Brubeck, Desmond proved himself to be an indispensable part of that quartet with a wistful and witty sound that he himself described as akin to a "dry martini." Fortunately, Desmond continued to add to his legacy starting in 1968 with a series of albums done for producer Creed Taylor's A&M/CTI imprint. I recommend it without reserve it should be in every jazz fan's collection.Even if he had never played another note following the break-up of the Dave Brubeck group in 1967, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond would have entered the history books as one of music's most brilliant improvisers. This record gives a very good selection of the work of the late Paul Desmond he died 1977 aged 52 and jazz lost a unique voice. Samba Cantina shows Desmond just as happy in the Latin Idiom, Jim Hall is on guitar on this one, with Eugene Wright (a long time Brubeck sideman) on bass and Connie Kay from the Modern Jazz Quartet on drums. This track comes from an album called 'Two of a Mind' which I have noted for future acquisition! They did have the benefit of Joe Benjamin on bass.Īnd Mel Lewis on drums, so they were in very good hands. The absence of piano on this track seems to cause no problem for either soloist and it gives the music a very 'clean' feel. There is also a very nice version of Out of Nowhere recorded with another very melodic saxophone player Gerry Mulligan, on which their two horns weave around the melody together to produce excellent counterpoint. Hall's guitar playing is also very melodic and his chord work sparse as Desmond weaves his delicate improvisations over the melody. Probably because of his commitments to Brubeck, Desmond never played in public with Jim Hall, but it was a musical marriage made in heaven. This 'bluebird's best' album has him in a number of different settings, with strings on tracks 1,3,11 and 12 and with one of his regular collaborators on record, guitarist Jim Hall. Although he spent 11 years under contract to Brubeck as a member of his highly successful Quartet, he always retained his right to make records as a leader using his own name. The one's ability (Brubeck) stemming from hard toil and practice and the other a musical genius who instinctively did the right thing. Brubeck was the classically trained rhythm player always seeking new directions and Desmond the romantic melodic player whose background was from a degree in creative writing. He and Dave were made for each other in a musical sense. It was of course his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet that brought him to the attention of the public. This did not please all the critics of the time, but when you listen to these tracks today, you realise that he was a unique influence in jazz. His tone was completely different to those who had gone before him and Charlie Parker probably less influenced him, than any other top saxophone player of the 50's and 60's. His ability to weave intricate melodic patterns on any chord sequence is little short of pure magic. On this scale Paul Desmond is at the extreme end of the melodic sector. Some of course have strong elements of both in their playing. Jazz musicians tend to divide themselves into two groups, the rhythmic players and the melodic players. Reviewers: Don Mather, Dick Stafford, John Eyles, Jack Ashby Paul Desmond Cool Imagination: Jazz CD Reviews- November 2002 MusicWeb(UK) CD Reviews
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |