Paul Desmond "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Edo Castro | Cupertino, CA USA | 05/09/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is a vibrant and sensual arrangement of Paul Simon's finest music of the Sixties. The lush arrangements of Don Sebesky allow Paul Desmond to carry these melodies with ease without distracting the listener. Desmond successfully evokes and conveys the romantic and often times haunting "cinematic" qualities of Paul Simon's lyrics. Desmond's rendition of each melody is so lyrical, you could swear the words were being sung. What is so magical is that Paul Desmond can seamlessly connect his solos to the melodies without losing the essence of each piece. (America is a vibrant example of this.) No doubt this is a signature trait of Paul Desmond's sound.The listener will not get lost in some esoteric free form solo and then suddenly brought back to some truncated melody. Desmond takes you through a gorgeous journey of melodic exploration before recapping gently bringing back the listener to the theme. Those who are familiar with Desmond's work in the quartet setting may not appreciate Don Sebesky's instrumental backdrop. Unlike some of the vapid "sleazy listening" renditions of Beatles tunes bleeding through the elevator speakers, Don Sebesky gives girth to each piece with well thought out textures that will not leave you limp. It would simple to dismiss this overlooked jem as an "easy listening" Album. Hardly so, Desmond's rich thematic explorations in Paul Simons music is a veiled complexity that will give any listener, student of jazz , professional musician or any composer many hours of listening pleasure. The players on this session read as a "who's who of jazz." : Herbie Hancock, Airto, Ron Carter, just to name a few."
#1
E. Macomber | New Bern, NC United States | 06/19/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This Creed Taylor/Desmond gem is about as good as he did, and I am among those audiophiles that have been burned far too many times by my "favorite" artists trying to interpret current "pop" music in a genre which frankly should generally stick to what it knows best. But when you hear the title tune, you are convinced that Don Sebesky knew where this was going from the very inseption. This is one "customs overpriced" cd you will thank God for. Lush, so well arranged that I wore the vinyl record out twice. "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" is a song most jazz artists would not touch, yet this one is so lush, it will blow your mind.."how did they do that?" Incidently, if you are a drummer, you'll flip over the emphasized sound here! Finally, for once a collection of music that probably could pass muster for more styles than any disc you'll ever own. It is jazz, easy listening, pop, and so close to new age it is hard to believe this was recorded so long ago. Desmond was infamous for blowing so soft it seemed like he used a whisper to play and you'll never hear him softer, over-all, than here!"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1