Chip Off the Old Bop

Buddy DeFranco | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B0000006L9
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,220 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Grooveyard

2. Dança del Sol

3. If You Could See Me Now

4. The Lamp Is Low

5. Chip off the Old Bop

6. You're Blasé

7. Dancing in the Dark

8. Makin' Whoopee

9. Moon Song

10. Out to Lunch

11. Almost

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Quintet Bop Outing....., June 14, 2004

By 

Robert J. Ament "papacoolbreeze" (Ballwin, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chip Off the Old Bop (Audio CD)

by one of the two clarinet innovators, the other being Eddie Daniels, since the end of the big band swing era. Buddy's name never became a household name like Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw because quite frankly, the instrument seemed to lose its appeal perhaps because it is a difficult instrument to play and bop did not make it easier! Buddy is a virtuoso of both the instrument and bop!

The personnel interact very well on a program that includes standards as well as a few bop pieces arranged in a fashion that will hold your listening attention. One of the "treats" of the cd is the playing of Chicagoan Larry Novak on piano who also handles a string synthesizer on three of the selections. Joe Cohn, son of the late great tenor saxist Al Cohn, handles the guitar with fluid expertise. The other musicians are veterans very familiar to jazz buffs, bassist Keter Betts and drummer Jimmy Cobb.

"Groove Yard" is a minor blues written by Carl Perkins. "Danca Del Sol" is a samba utilizing the string synthesizer mentioned earlier and provides a nice variation to the program. Tadd Dameron's evergreen "If You Could See Me Now" is next followed by the standard "The Lamp Is Low" which comes off nicely played at a slightly faster tempo than what I normally associate with the tune. The title tune is a good pure bop tune. "You're Blase" is a standard done beautifully and, according to the liner notes, the same arrangement that Al Cohn did for Sarah Vaughn back in the '40s. "Dancing In The Dark", seldom heard these days, is another great selection done in a medium tempo. Another oldie, "Makin' Whoopee" wails.....in a laid back way....really great! A beautiful rendition of "Moon Song" and a gorgeous ballad, again with the string synthesizer, sandwich an intricate bop piece entitled "Almost". A Flip Phillips original, "Hashimoto's Blues" serves as the closer.

Having looked at the prices currently posted for this cd,.....it's a steal for a program of quintet jazz, particularly offering superb clarinet, that provides some welcome variation to anyone's library.

3.0 out of 5 stars Chip off the Old Bop, August 30, 2009

By 

Mr. A. Willmoth -. Riley (Luton, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chip Off the Old Bop (Audio CD)

I like Buddy DeFranco. He is a fine clarinet player who has helped to elevate the status of the clarinet in modern jazz. I did, however, find this CD rather mechanical and monotonous. I have other recordings of his which have more flair and feeling. Tony Riley