Bob Brookmeyer (4)

CLARK TERRY & BOB BROOKMEYER - POWER OF POSITIVE SWINGING (1964)

A1. Dancing on the Grave
A2. Battle Hymn of the Republic
A3. The King
A4. Ode to a Flugelhorn
A5. Gal in Calico
B1. Green Stamps
B2. Hawg Jawz
B3. Simple Waltz
B4. Just an Old Manuscript

Clark Terry- Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Bob Brookmeyer- Valve Trombone
Roger Kellaway- Piano
Bill Crow- Bass
Dave Bailey- Drums

CLARK TERRY & BOB BROOKMEYER - GINGERBREAD MEN (1966)

A1.Haig And Haig
A2.I Want A Little Girl
A3.Mood Indigo
A4.Milo's Other Samba
A5.Gingerbread Boy
B1.My Gal
B2.Naptown
B3.Morning Mist
B4.Bye Bye Blackbird

The team of Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer shouldn't work so well together – but although Terry's always been an optimist, and Brookmeyer's had a history as a modernist, the pair cut some great records together! This set's one of the best of a short run the Terry/Brookmeyer group cut for Mainstream in the mid 60s – a quintet session with Hank Jones on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums – all players creative enough to match the playful spirit of the leaders, muting their rhythms one minute, and grooving them up the next! The mix of Terry's flugelhorn and Brookmeyer's trombone is especially great – a breathy approach to the horn parts that still swings hard, but with a fluid grace that's more pulsating than punctuating. Titles include a great version of Gary McFarland's "Milo's Other Samba", Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy", and the titles "Haig & Haig", "My Gal", "Naptown", and "Morning Mist". (Inner label appears to have been branded.)

Bass – Bob Cranshaw
Drums – Dave Bailey
Engineer – Phil Ramone
Liner Notes – Nat Hentoff
Piano – Hank Jones
Trombone – Bob Brookmeyer
Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals – Clark Terry

BOB BROOKMEYER - TRADITIONALISM REVISITED (1957)

R.I.P.

1. Louisiana
2. Santa Claus Blues
3. Truckin'
4. Some Sweet Day
5. Sweet Like This
6. Don't Be That Way
7. Honeysuckle Rose
8. Slow Freight
9. The Sheik of Araby

This Pacific Jazz album is a bit unusual. Bob Brookmeyer (on valve trombone and piano), Jimmy Giuffre (switching between clarinet, baritone and tenor), guitarist Jim Hall, either Joe Benjamin or Ralph Pena on bass and drummer Dave Bailey perform eight songs from the 1920s and '30s including some obscurities. While these selections have occasionally been revived by Dixieland and swing bands, Brookmeyer and his group use harmonies that were modern for the 1950s to update such tunes as "Louiaiana," "Truckin'," "Honeysuckle Rose" and even "Santa Claus Blues." Because the musicians have a respect for the older styles, they extend rather than break the tradition; the results are quite enjoyable. ~ Scott Yanow

BOB BROOKMEYER - TROMBONE JAZZ FESTIVAL (1962)

A1.Samba De Orfeu
A2.Manha De Carnival
A3.Blues Bossa Nova
A4.Qual E O Po
B1.A Felicidade
B2.Theme From "Mutiny On The Bounty"
B3.Chara Tua Tristeza
B4.Col. Bogey Bossa Nova

Drums [Cabassa] – Carmen Costa
Drums [Latin] – Willie Bobo
Guitar – Jim Hall, Jimmy Raney
Piano – Bob Brookmeyer
Tambourine – Jose Paulo*
Trombone – Bob Brookmeyer
Vibraphone – Gary McFarland