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October 10, 2005
Bob Brookmeyer/Kenny Wheeler, "Island"
I've recently been correcting a longstanding oversight on my part: a lack of attention to the artistry of valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. Though hardly an obscure player, Brookmeyer tends to be neglected by exponents of the slide trombone, myself included. This is mostly for reasons of slide-chauvinism -- we tend to think of the slide instrument as a higher link in the musical food chain. However, the older I get, the more I begin to realize that such preconceptions are misguided and can lead one to miss out on important stuff.
Such as the CD titled above. Recorded in 2002, "Island" is a quintet album made up entirely of originals by Brookmeyer and trumpet/fluegelhornist Kenny Wheeler. It's some of the most heartbreaking, beautiful modern music I've heard in years. Brookmeyer and Wheeler are inventive soloists who never -- but never -- lapse into cliches, licks, or gratuitous pyrotechnics. Instead, their melodic and harmonic creativity permeate the music from beginning to end. The rhythm section is just as good -- pianist Frank Carlberg, bass player Jeremy Allen, and drummer John Hollenbeck complement the horns nicely.
The CD package includes a bonus I didn't realize I was getting -- a free DVD that contains interviews, musical analysis, solos with transcriptions that scroll by as the soloist plays, and various other useful material.
I've often been critical of the state of modern jazz, almost to the point of abandoning it altogether in favor of other types of contemporary music. "Island," however, is definitive proof that creativity and expression are alive and well in the jazz idiom!
Posted by Urbie at October 10, 2005 10:55 PM