Customer Reviews

Power of Positive Swingin

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The Clark Terry/Bob Brookmeyer collaberation was one of the glories of jazz history. Terry, who may be the most universally admired trumpet/fluegelhorn jazz virtuoso of the century, has always been a musical extrovert. Brookmeyer, on the other hand, has always the more introspective artist, even to the point of playing - superbly - an instrument that has been all but ignored by the musical community at large (the valve trombone).

Apart from their sheer jaw-dropping virtuosity, the magic of these performances comes from the telepathic bond between two contrasting but empathetic musical personalities. Clark Terry has never sounded less glib, and Bob Brookmeyer has never sounded more alive, than in the wonderful series of recordings they made together in the 1960's. This is a prime example of jazz that communicates on every level - the most jaded aficianado and the novice alike will find treasures throughout.

Between 1964 and 1966, Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer teamed up to make three albums for the Mainstream label (Terry made a fourth without Brookmeyer: it's the least impressive of them all), and this one, I think, is the best. The two men had a real empathy for each other, and their playing is always inventive and sharp. SIMPLE WALTZ is a blues waltz that goes from medium to up tempo and is anything but simple when the two leaders start trading fours; the ending is a gas and "amen" to that. GREEN STAMPS is another up-tempo blues. Pianist Roger Kellaway is a magician at the keyboard: one minute he's swinging like Teddy Wilson, the next he lays down a Monkian run that would impress even Thelonious. Perhaps the best track is THE KING, a swing classic that everyone here just eats up. This is a most delightful and impressive CD, with Terry and Brookmeyer at their swinging modern best.