Bob Brookmeyer and Friends (Columbia, 1964)

[Teasing the Korean]

What do people think of this album?  It has always been a rainy days and Mondays kind of record for me, in a good way.  The group includes Stan Getz, Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Elvin Jones.  It is interesting to hear this rhythm section playing with Brookmeyer and Getz.

 

 

[mikeweil]

Maybe Columbia had more in mind. The same rhythm section recorded with Tony Bennett, but it remained unissued. This 1987 Bennett compilation saw the first release of four of these tracks.

[Teasing the Korean]

22 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

Maybe Columbia had more in mind. The same rhythm section recorded with Tony Bennett, but it remained unissued. This 1987 Bennett compilation saw the first release of four of these tracks.

There is a fifth track, "Day Dream,"  included on the expanded CD of Brookmeyer & Friends.

[sidewinder]

The track 'Jive Hoot' was included in one of the earliest jazz compilations I ever heard, one put out by CBS on the budget UK 'Embassy' label. I think it is the best track on the album.

[Teasing the Korean]

29 minutes ago, sidewinder said:

The track 'Jive Hoot' was included in one of the earliest jazz compilations I ever heard, one put out by CBS on the budget UK 'Embassy' label. I think it is the best track on the album.

It is a great track, but at the same time, I would not want to be without the rainy-days-and-Mondays aspects of the album's ballads.  

[Rooster_Ties]

I ‘like’ this session ok, but it’s a lot more relaxed than I was hoping for when I got it.  The vocal tracks with Tony are fine.

Ultimately it’s not the kind informal session I have very many of in my collection.  Might eventually trade it off, simply because I just have too many CD’s and really need to thin the herd (thin the ‘heard’) again one of these days.

But it is perfectly fine for what it is — no complaints.

[JSngry]

I have yet to really warm to it. 

[Rooster_Ties]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

I have yet to really warm to it. 

That’s kinda what I was politely trying to say.

It doesn’t move me a whole lot, but I’m not actively put off by it — other than hearing it doesn’t move me to spin it again terribly soon. 

[mikeweil]

The whole series of sessions in May and October 1964 was produced by Teo Macero and sounds to me like his brainchild, his idea of an all star production.  Miles' pianist and bassist, Coltrane's drummer, Getz and his new star vibist, his old buddy Brookmeyer as a leader/writer/arranger, and Bennett as vocal star with an underrepresented jazz side on his Columbia albums. Only Bennett was under contract with Columbia; Brookmeyer turned out to be a one shot deal, all the others recorded for other labels as a leader  - that's the only way Macero could have 'em all.

There are some excellent solos scattered over the tracks. I wonder how the takes categorized as "no final performances" in the credits of the expanded CD reissue sound. Brookmeyer plays fine throughout, but this is not your idea of a highly charged blowing session. Leave your expectations behind, and you will probably get more out of it. 

I hear no melancholy or sad strains in this music, btw.. Relaxed and elegant. 

p.s. the rhythm section stirs the fire at a constant level, but does not intend to burn the forest.

Edited March 13, 2023 by mikeweil

[JSngry]

My only expectation was that it would stop and smile and say/wave hi as it passes me on the sidewalk, or, if not, throw off a vibe indicating why not. As it is, it doesn't even make eye contact, subliminal or otherwise.

How rude! 

[mikeweil]

After listening to all the vocla tracks I think that Bennett's singing style is not really compatible with the more "modern" backing they provide. Imagine someone like Mark Murphy with these guys. Bennett has not enough drama in "Out Of This World". A bit too proper. At first I thought he may have overdubbed, as the band plays a little too much, but there is a phrase Getz plays that is too much of interaction with the singer. Maybe they all didn't give enough of a damn on these sessions. Just another studio gig?

Edited March 14, 2023 by mikeweil

[Big Al]

I like it but I couldn't tell you the last time I pulled it off the shelf. I agree Jive Hoot is the standout track. Which means I'll probably pull it off the shelf and wonder why I rarely listen to it.

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, Big Al said:

...I'll probably pull it off the shelf and wonder why I rarely listen to it.

I do that once every 15-20 years myself! 

[Teasing the Korean]

I reach for it on rainy Mondays, and it is an A+ album on those occasions, especially the ballads.