Bob Brookmeyer, Composer

[fasstrack]

Bob's writing challenges me and stretches my brain as much as George Russell's. He never stood still.

This is the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Bob would take it a lot more out than this later, then bring it back in...

 

[fasstrack]

No one has anything to say about this great man?

Boo hoo...

[BillF]

Great clip. I particularly like Thad Jones/Mel Lewis doing Bob's "A B C Blues".

[gmonahan]

I always loved Brookmeyer's jazz writing and arranging (not to mention his fleet trombone playing!), but I have to say the later-career Third Stream stuff sort of left me cold.

 

gregmo

[fasstrack]

4 hours ago, gmonahan said:

 ...but I have to say the later-career Third Stream stuff sort of left me cold.

 

gregmo

He went through it, maybe to push himself or out of curiosity, but came back 'in' toward the end. You have to stretch to grow...

[scooby]

David Berger recently posted some thoughts on Brookmeyer:

 

http://www.suchsweetthundermusic.com/blogs/news/an-uneasy-relationship-thoughts-on-bob-brookmeyer

[A Lark Ascending]

One of my favourite jazz large group recordings of recent years - parts of it have you thinking late Mahler rather than Duke Ellington.  

[six string]

8 hours ago, fasstrack said:

No one has anything to say about this great man?

Boo hoo...

I was slow to recognizing him or his music but I'm  catching up.  I acquired his 7 X Wilder album about ten years ago, maybe a little longer and I really liked his piano playing on it.  I have since then picked up a few more albums by him.  His writing and arranging are excellent.  I'll be watching this thread for more info and selections.

[fasstrack]

7 hours ago, six string said:

  I acquired his 7 X Wilder album about ten years ago, maybe a little longer and I really liked his piano playing on it.  

Never even heard of that one. I'll check it out.

There's also a recording called Standards that he made towards the end that I want to hear. I was just talking to a friend who was his student who thinks that Brook made that perhaps partly to sort of thumb his nose at the people that thought he was too 'out' for them...

[six string]

Have you heard the album he made with Bill Evans?  Original title is The Ivory Hunters I think but my copy is on Blue Note and they titled it As Time Goes By.  It's just the two of them on piano and I love it.  He was a very good pianist imo.  He wasn't the best technically but he sure used everything he had.  His style reminds me of Bill which is what I noticed about his playing on the X 7 Wilder  album.  His Trombone Jazz Samba album is very good as well.

[fasstrack]

15 hours ago, scooby said:

David Berger recently posted some thoughts on Brookmeyer:

 

http://www.suchsweetthundermusic.com/blogs/news/an-uneasy-relationship-thoughts-on-bob-brookmeyer

Interesting reflection.

My own interactions with Bob were brief but memorable. I first contacted him by email to query him about some of the darker utterances he posted on a blog he once had. He was trashing musicians left and right, and viciously. I wanted to know why and I challenged him. I received a thoughtful, measured and rather long response.

Then, in 2004, I had the idea to nominate Bill Finegan for a lifetime achievement award. I lived in the same neighborhood as Dr. Billy Taylor, and ran into him at a restaurant one night and broached this. He was happy to help, and told me to contact the Kennedy Center and use his name. Very nice, for sure, but for some reason I gravitated to reaching out to Brookmeyer, probably because he knew and considered Bill a hero. Long story short: Bill got his award, a plaque from ASCAP, through the efforts of Bob and Johnny Mandel. Also, Bob called Finegan every single day after Bill's wife passed away. So he may have had a dark and angry side, but he had a lot of heart and compassion to honor his heroes. 

I called him once to tell him he was one of mine... 

[six string]

Whhat kind of website is Such Sweet Thunder?  I found that add for that album or book that kept hovering in the area I was reading very annoying.  Is it a membership type site?  Great stories though.  Fascinating.  I'm going to pull out some Bob Brookmeyer lps to spin today and focus more on the arrangements.

[fasstrack]

4 hours ago, six string said:

Whhat kind of website is Such Sweet Thunder?  I found that add for that album or book that kept hovering in the area I was reading very annoying.  Is it a membership type site?  Great stories though.  Fascinating.  I'm going to pull out some Bob Brookmeyer lps to spin today and focus more on the arrangements.

It's his blog. Someone else complained about that ad, too, in the comments section. I guess a guy has the right to hawk his product on his own web page...

[six string]

Ah, of course.  Thanks for the clarification.  

[Gheorghe]

Shame on me, but somehow the stuff with the Mel Lewis BB after Thad had left didn´t reach me. Had heard the original ThadJones/Mel Lewis and was disappointed with the 1980 edition with much of Bob Brookmeyer´s originals.....

[BillF]

4 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Shame on me, but somehow the stuff with the Mel Lewis BB after Thad had left didn´t reach me. Had heard the original ThadJones/Mel Lewis and was disappointed with the 1980 edition with much of Bob Brookmeyer´s originals.....

I recommend this one:

[fasstrack]

8 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Shame on me, but somehow the stuff with the Mel Lewis BB after Thad had left didn´t reach me. Had heard the original ThadJones/Mel Lewis and was disappointed with the 1980 edition with much of Bob Brookmeyer´s originals.....

I think I know what you mean. Thad's writing IMO is warmer than Bob's, so maybe he reached more people. And the personnel in that '60s band was pretty incredible...

[Gheorghe]

yeah that´s how I felt it.

[BillF]

Yes, admittedly I didn't get on with this one:

but this was still within my limits:

 

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by BillF