I agree that they were one of the top groups in jazz; and very influential . In general, musicians associated with the West Coast sound or Cool Jazz were not given their due relative to prominent East Coast jazz musicians. I know that this will be considered controversial by some, especially in an age of political correctness, but there was a kind of bias towards jazz musicians whose music was not as obviously (blatantly?) steeped in the blues; they were sometimes considered less "serious". Theirs was a style and rhythmic feeling that even some musicians considered to be "too white" and without a deep enough swing feel. Very unfortunate bias. Desmond as you point out was able to rise above much of that. I love Desmond’s playing. Very inventive player with an absolutely gorgeous, unique and relaxed tone. When asked how he was able to produce that beautiful tone he famously replied that his goal was "to sound like a dry martini": https://youtu.be/U15YSAyfmnU |
I should have written "bias AGAINST jazz musicians whose music was not....". Sorry, that second language thing....🤔 |
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Well frogman, some held a bias FOR those musicians while others held a bias AGAINST them. Â Such is human nature. ;^)
But I understood the point you intended.
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While archiving my LP's to hardrive I re-discovered "Dave Brubeck". It was like running into a very old friend. He was on a 2 LP set titled "Dave Brubeck's All Time Greatest Hits". This was his quartet with Paul Desmond, on sax; Joe Morello, on drums; Eugene Wright, on base, and of course, Dave Brubeck on piano.
The music was as comfortable as an old pair of slippers, just right for listening and relaxing. Although "Take Five" was quite revolutionary when it came out on the LP "Time Out", it seems tame now. So many memories of beautiful days in the past flooded my memories as I listened, it was like a slide show of good times. I recall seeing Dave live at a free outdoor concert. It was at "Our Lady of The Snows Shrine", in front of the main shrine, on a golden, warm Fall afternoon. He was accompanied by the most beautiful modern dancers who did choreography to his music. That day was unforgettable.
One tip, if you plan on archiving your LP's to hardrive, make sure you have a spare belt before you start. Mine began slipping, but fortunately I had a spare.
Enjoy the music.orpheus
10-30-2012 8:32a
Look at the date on which this was posted. I bought those LP,s brand new from the record store when they were released in that month and year. |
