Jimmy Giuffre

4-CD BOX SET

This box offers three albums (Dragonfly, Quasar, and Liquid Dancers) by the Jimmy Giuffre 4, which included keyboardist Pete Levin, bassist Bob Nieske, and drummer Randy Kaye. The fourth disc (Conversations with a Goose) is a trio date on which Giuffre is joined by pianist Paul Bley and electric bassist Steve Swallow. On the three quartet albums, all of them released between 1981 and 1991, Giuffre's style is clearly influenced by the electric fusion sounds of the 1970s and 1980s: Levin's keyboards range over a huge spectrum of electronic timbres and effects, and while the rhythms always gravitate back to an easy swing, they wander off into some interesting areas from time to time as well. Conversations with a Goose is a very different album: here Giuffre sticks to clarinet and soprano saxophone, and the pieces are quieter, more intimate, and almost contemplative. The free expressionism that has always been a hallmark of Giuffre's mature style is well in evidence, and the interplay between the three players is consistently compelling.

PERSONNEL:

CD 1: DRAGONFLY

• JIMMY GIUFFRE, tenor & soprano sax, clarinet
• BOB NIESKE, bass
• PETE LEVIN, keyboards
• RANDY KAYE, drums
• Southbury, Conn., January 14-15, 1983

• 01. Dragonfly
• 02. Cool
• 03. In between
• 04. Moonlight
• 05. J to J
• 06. Sad truth
• 07. Stella by starlight
• 08. Squirrel

CD 2: QUASAR

• JIMMY GIUFFRE, tenor & soprano sax, clarinet
• BOB NIESKE, bass
• PETE LEVIN, keyboards
• RANDY KAYE, drums
• Southbury, CT, May 3 & 5, 1985

• 01. Quasar
• 02. Frog legs
• 03. Phantom
• 04. Spirits
• 05. Wolf soup
• 06. Shadows
• 07. Second step
• 08. Night ride

CD 3: LIQUID DANCERS

• JIMMY GIUFFRE, tenor & soprano sax, clarinet
• BOB NIESKE, bass
• PETE LEVIN, keyboards
• RANDY KAYE, drums
• Southbury, CT, April 24, 1989

• 01. Liquid dancers
• 02. Koko-nut
• 03. Runnin' from the rain
• 04. I would
• 05. Move with the times
• 06. Subway
• 07. Vision
• 08. The teacher
• 09. If I was

CD 4: CONVERSATIONS WITH A GOOSE

• JIMMY GIUFFRE, tenor sax
• PAUL BLEY, piano
• STEVE SWALLOW, bass
• Milan, Italy, May 27, 1993

• 01. Conversations with a goose
• 02. The flock is in
• 03. Echo through the canyon
• 04. Three ducks
• 05. Watchin' the river
• 06. Campfire
• 07. Cobra
• 08. Among the high rocks
• 09. White peaks
• 10. Calls in the night
• 11. Lonely days
• 12. Jungle critters
• 13. Restless