Search - Buddy Defranco :: Chip Off the Old Bop

Great Quintet Bop Outing.....

Robert J. Ament | Ballwin, MO United States | 06/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"by one of the two clarinet innovators, the other being Eddie Daniels, since the end of the big band swing era. Buddy's name never became a household name like Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw because quite frankly, the instrument seemed to lose its appeal perhaps because it is a difficult instrument to play and bop did not make it easier! Buddy is a virtuoso of both the instrument and bop!The personnel interact very well on a program that includes standards as well as a few bop pieces arranged in a fashion that will hold your listening attention. One of the "treats" of the cd is the playing of Chicagoan Larry Novak on piano who also handles a string synthesizer on three of the selections. Joe Cohn, son of the late great tenor saxist Al Cohn, handles the guitar with fluid expertise. The other musicians are veterans very familiar to jazz buffs, bassist Keter Betts and drummer Jimmy Cobb. "Groove Yard" is a minor blues written by Carl Perkins. "Danca Del Sol" is a samba utilizing the string synthesizer mentioned earlier and provides a nice variation to the program. Tadd Dameron's evergreen "If You Could See Me Now" is next followed by the standard "The Lamp Is Low" which comes off nicely played at a slightly faster tempo than what I normally associate with the tune. The title tune is a good pure bop tune. "You're Blase" is a standard done beautifully and, according to the liner notes, the same arrangement that Al Cohn did for Sarah Vaughn back in the '40s. "Dancing In The Dark", seldom heard these days, is another great selection done in a medium tempo. Another oldie, "Makin' Whoopee" wails.....in a laid back way....really great! A beautiful rendition of "Moon Song" and a gorgeous ballad, again with the string synthesizer, sandwich an intricate bop piece entitled "Almost". A Flip Phillips original, "Hashimoto's Blues" serves as the closer. Having looked at the prices currently posted for this cd,.....it's a steal for a program of quintet jazz, particularly offering superb clarinet, that provides some welcome variation to anyone's library."