Search - Bob Brookmeyer :: Holiday

Reply to seattle "musician"

robert e. brookmeyer | grantham, nh USA | 01/12/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't mind informed opinions, but this Seattle guy is better off staying with the computer business. Virtually every opinion has been favorable, save his. I will soon be in the neighborhood (Victoria,BC) and would love a chance to hear him play. With me? If you dare. Bob Brookmeyer"

This From All-Music Guide

robert e. brookmeyer | 12/13/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"AMG EXPERT REVIEW:Although Bob Brookmeyer played piano in addition to his regular
instrument, valve trombone, while he was working with Jimmy Giuffre and in both the small and big
bands led by Gerry Mulligan, as well as on other sessions, this is his first exclusive outing on the
instrument since the recording of "The Ivory Hunters," his famous duo piano date with Bill Evans,
some 40-plus years later. Producer Peter Larsen overcame Brookmeyer's numerous objections that
he wasn't up to the task; the results are more than satisfying. With bassist Mads Vinding and
drummer Alex Riel, he develops interesting approaches to half a dozen time-tested standards. "The
Man I Love" is economical and occasionally dissonant, while his reworking of "I Thought About You"
has a well-disguised introduction and later a Latin flavor as the rhythm section joins him. "I Should
Care" is transformed into a troubled, somewhat darker setting, but he follows it up with a joyful,
foot-tapping "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" that surely reflects the song's title; it comes out
sounding like an original by Brookmeyer. As one of the top (and most under-appreciated) arrangers
and appreciated composers at the dawn of the 21st century, Brookmeyer's originals stand up very
well to close scrutiny. "Summer Song" is his brisk reworking of George Gershwin's well-known
"Summertime." The pretty ballad "Pastoral" contrasts with his playful (and at first, deceptively simple)
"Stupid Song," which builds from an initially repetitious two-note theme. Brookmeyer would never claim
that he has the greatest chops on piano, but the way in which he makes use of his talent on the
keyboard is of far more interest than the CDs by up-and-coming full-time pianists with great technique
but little knowledge of what to do with it. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide"