Bob Brookmeyer - Mosaic Select 09 [2004] (3 x CDs)

SUNDAY JAZZ

BOB BOOKMYER

Bob Brookmeyer - Mosaic Select 09 [2004] (3 x CDs)

Mosaic’s ninth Select set restores a crucial chapter in the career of Bob Brookmeyer, gathering his small‑group recordings for Pacific Jazz and World Pacific from the mid‑1950s. These sessions, long admired by collectors, show Brookmeyer shaping the valve trombone into an instrument of unusual clarity, using its smooth mechanics to create lines that moved with the ease of a horn and the weight of a brass voice. The set presents the material in chronological order, allowing the listener to hear how Brookmeyer’s writing and ensemble approach developed across a period when West Coast jazz was finding its identity.

The earliest sides reveal Brookmeyer working within tight quartet and quintet settings, often alongside musicians who shared his interest in balance and restraint. His tone is warm, his phrasing deliberate, and his solos unfold with a sense of calm direction. The interplay with players such as Jimmy Giuffre and Bill Holman highlights Brookmeyer’s gift for counterpoint, a skill that would later define his work as an arranger. Even in these early sessions, the writing shows a careful attention to structure, with lines that rise and fall like architectural forms.

The mid‑period recordings broaden the palette. Brookmeyer moves between trombone and piano, shaping ensembles that blend cool‑school lyricism with subtle rhythmic drive. The arrangements are thoughtful, the harmonies clear, and the ensemble passages reveal a composer who understood how to place each voice within a larger frame. His ballad work, often overlooked, emerges as one of the set’s quiet strengths, marked by a gentle authority that never slips into sentimentality.

The final sessions in the collection show Brookmeyer refining his ideas, moving toward the more expansive writing that would define his later decades. Mosaic Select 09 preserves these recordings with care, presenting a portrait of a musician whose intelligence and restraint shaped every ensemble he joined. It stands as a clear record of Brookmeyer’s early voice, lyrical, precise and deeply musical. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Bob Brookmeyer - Liberty Belle 2:49

02 Bob Brookmeyer - Have You Met Miss Jones 3:34

03 Bob Brookmeyer - Isn't it Romantic 2:37

04 Bob Brookmeyer - Traditional Blues 2:37

05 Bob Brookmeyer - Doe Eyes 3:19

06 Bob Brookmeyer - Red Devil 3:22

07 Bob Brookmeyer - Body and Soul 3:22

08 Bob Brookmeyer - Last Chance 2:50

09 Bob Brookmeyer - Arrowhead 7:00

10 Bob Brookmeyer - Street Swingers 6:21

11 Bob Brookmeyer - Hot Buttered Noodling 6:04

12 Bob Brookmeyer - Musicale du Jour 8:51

13 Bob Brookmeyer - Raney Day 5:26

14 Bob Brookmeyer - Jupiter 5:06

CD2

01 Bob Brookmeyer - Louisiana 5:29

02 Bob Brookmeyer - Santa Claus Blues 5:46

03 Bob Brookmeyer - Truckin' 7:30

04 Bob Brookmeyer - Some Sweet Day 4:50

05 Bob Brookmeyer - Sweet Like This 4:05

06 Bob Brookmeyer - Jada 3:51

07 Bob Brookmeyer - Don't Be That Way 5:01

08 Bob Brookmeyer - Honeysuckle Rose 6:08

09 Bob Brookmeyer - Brook's Blues 4:18

10 Bob Brookmeyer - Slow Freight 8:52

11 Bob Brookmeyer - The Sheik of Araby 5:04

CD3

01 Bob Brookmeyer - Jumpin' at the Woodside 8:02

02 Bob Brookmeyer - A Blues (What's on Your Mind) 5:07

03 Bob Brookmeyer - Blue and Sentimental 6:54

04 Bob Brookmeyer - Doggin' Around 8:42

05 Bob Brookmeyer - Moten Swing 10:14

06 Bob Brookmeyer - Trav'lin' Light 3:34

07 Bob Brookmeyer - Stretching Out 6:10

08 Bob Brookmeyer - Now Will You Be Good 5:30

09 Bob Brookmeyer - Pennies from Heaven 6:17

10 Bob Brookmeyer - King Porter Stomp 4:41

11 Bob Brookmeyer - Ain't Misbehavin' 6:56

12 Bob Brookmeyer - Bee Kay 6:42

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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