Paul Bream (see link) has drawn attention to the death of composer, arranger sax and clarinet player Jimmy Giuffre. For me, one of Jimmy Giuffre's greatest achievements was his composition "Four Brothers" written for Woody Herman's Third Herd; a number that is justly still in vogue with big bands and vocal groups.
The Jimmy Giuffre Trio appeared at Newcastle City Hall in March 1960 as part of a JATP package. The other two members were Jim Hall on guitar and Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass.
I recall, from notes I made on the program during the concert, that he played three numbers in a 20 minute set; "Blue Monk", an original called "Easy Way" and Duke's "In A Mellotone", playing tenor on "Mellotone" and clarinet on the other two.
He was one day short of his 87th birthday when he died.
Lance
2 comments :
I was also saddened by the death of Jimmy (on the same weekend as Humphrey Lyttleton) I own a great recording on vinyl of "Quasar" by the Jimmy Giuffre 4, ever heard it? It blew my mind when I bought it 20 years ago.
Was at the gig at the "Chilly Arms" on 14th May, yes, David Carnegie is something else!
Great blog,
Cheers,
Phil Kelly.
No, I haven't heard "Quasar", but I'll look out for it. I've only got "The Train and the River" LP which I must admit that, until this week, I hadn't played for years. When I played it the other day the piece that most caught my ear was the Jim Hall feature "Crazy He Calls Me".
Thanks for your kind remarks; I look forward to more from you.
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