Bob Brookmeyer - Brookmeyer (1957)

1. Oh, Jane Snavely (B Brookmeyer) 3:10
2. Nature Boy (Eden, Habez) 7:06
3. Just You, Just Me (Greer, Klages) 2:42
4. I'm Old Fashioned (J Kern, J Mercer) 2:54
5. Gone Latin (B Brookmeyer) 3:01
6. Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart (J F Hanley) 6:28
7. Big City Life (B Brookmeyer) 4:09
8. Confusion Blues (B Brookmeyer) 4:15
9. Open Country (B Brookmeyer) 6:09

Tracks 1,3,9.
Al Derisi, Joe Ferrante Bernie Glow, Louis Oles (trumpets); Bobby Brookmeyer (valve trombone);
Al Cohn, Al Epstein, Eddie Wasserman (tenor sax); Sol Schlinger (baritone sax);
Hank Jones (piano); Buddy Jones (bass); Osie Johnson (drums).
Recorded at Webster Hall, NYC, September 19, 1956

Tracks 2, 4, 7.
Bernie Glow, Nick Travis (trumpets); Bobby Brookmeyer (valve trombone, piano);
Al Cohn (clarinet, alto sax); Al Epstein (baritone sax);
Joe Singer (french horn); Don Butterfield (tuba);
Milt Hinton (bass); Osie Johnson (drums).
Recorded at Webster Hall, NYC, October 9, 1956.

Tracks 5,6,8.
Nick Travis (trumpet); Bobby Brookmeyer (valve trombone);
Gene Quill (alto sax); Al Cohn (tenor sax); Sol Schlinger (baritone sax);
Hank Jones (piano); Milt Hinton (bass); Osie Johnson (drums).
Recorded at Webster Hall, NYC, October 15, 1956.

Originally issued on Vik Records LP LX-1071. (1957) (via RCA Records).

:: Brookmeyer ::

Ace writer, arranger, sometimes piano player, and above all Valve Trombone player Bob Brookmeyer is featured here on three sessions from 1956. Well supported by a host of top names, the results speak for themselves. Excellent.

This LP, originally made for the Vik label (RCA), features three distinctly different groups. The big band has a ball with the leader's upbeat "Oh, Jane Snavely" and one of his best known works, the snappy "Open Country" (which turned up on more than a few of Gerry Mulligan's albums), as well as a quick take of the standard "Just You, Just Me." A smaller group with three saxes (Gene Quill, Al Cohn, and Sol Schlinger) and trumpeter Nick Travis covers the old chestnut "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and a pair of Brookmeyer's songs. Another medium-size band with only one sax player (Al Cohn, who doubles on clarinet) plus French horns, tuba, baritone, and English horn conjure up an unusual approach to "Nature Boy," while Brookmeyer switches to piano for his reflective ballad "Big City Life." Brookmeyer's fascinating arrangements and the excellent musicianship throughout all three sessions make this an essential acquisition.
Review by Ken Dryden (allmusic guide)