Retro Redux: Discovering Jimmy Giuffre

When I first began listening to jazz in the late 1950s I was initially drawn to the older big-band style, but over the next few years I began to discover another type of music with appeal. Some of the younger guys were playing a different form of jazz, and it caught my attention.

My first favorite was Dave Brubeck, and I still remember playing his big hit, "Take Five," over and over on the jukebox at my college student center. But even though I remain a fan of his to this day, I eventually began to look beyond Brubeck to see who else was making interesting jazz. One of the first to catch my eye - or my ear - was Jimmy Giuffre, and I was reminded of that recently when I saw that he'd died in late April, just two days short of his 87th birthday.

His music was certainly different from that of Brubeck, and I was intrigued and fascinated by his edgy sound, full of breathy tones and hypnotic rhythms. Although he was new to me, I learned that Giuffre had been around since the days of the big bands, playing sax and clarinet for Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, and Woody Herman. In fact, he'd written one of Herman's bigger hits, "Four Brothers."

But by the time he came to my notice he'd formed one of his many trios, and small groups would be his style for most of the rest of his career. However, he often experimented with different combinations of instruments within the groups, beginning with the Giuffre 3, which consisted of himself, Jim Hall on guitar, and Ralph Pena (later Jim Atlas) on bass. At one time, he also formed a trio with Hall and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, and yet another trio was composed of himself, pianist Paul Bley, and bassist Steve Swallow.

Article Author: Big Geez

Big Geez is a retiree who takes time off from trimming his ear hair to write about music -- occasionally writing reviews, but most often using his regular music feature, Retro Redux, to share his opinions about how something resonates with his memories and those of his generation. …

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