Clark Terry

This is the spirited Clark Terry-Bob Brookmeyer quintet that was the talk of the town from when they began playing regularly in New York in 1961 until 1965. Their exuberance and joy in playing was palpable, with Terry, mostly on flugelhorn, tearing through solo after solo with his characteristic dancing figures and rich, glowing tone. Brookmeyer, not quite the self-starting soloist that Terry is, usually has to lay a foundation on which to build his solos, but that done, he is as ruggedly convincing as Terry. Three different, but strong rhythm sections are heard here. The first Half Note session in New York features the original group with pianist Eddie Costa, a confident, utterly original soloist, completing an ideal rhythm section with bassist Joe Benjamin and drummer Osie Johnson.

PERSONNEL:

CD-1 (1-4)

Clark Terry (tp, flh)
Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb)
Eddie Costa (p)
Joe Benjamin (b)
Osie Johnson (d).

Recorded live at the Half Note, New York, 1962

CD-1 (5-11)

Clark Terry (tp, flh, vcl)
Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb)
Laurie Holloway (p)
Rick Laird (b)
Allan Ganley (d)

Recorded live in London, February 1965

CD-2:

Clark Terry (tp, flh, vcl, less #7-8)
Zoot Sims (ts #7-8)
Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb)
Roger Kellaway (p)
Bill Crow (b)
Dave Bailey (d)

Recorded live at the Half Note,
New York, December 3 (#1-2), 10 (#3-4).
June 18 (#5-6), November 26 (#7-8), 1965.

CD 1

01. Simple Waltz (Terry) 10:00
02. Things Ain’t What They Used to Be (Mercer Ellington) 8:32
03. Just an Old Manuscript (Redman-Razaf) 10:14
04. Stolen Moments (Nelson) 9:20
05. Hymn (Parker) 0:37
06. Straight No Chaser (Monk) 6:00
07. Pretty Girl (Brookmeyer) 3:55
08. Hum (Brookmeyer) 5:52
09. Things Ain’t What They Used to Be (Mercer Ellington) 6:03
10. Tete-a-Tete (Terry) 5:46
11. Hymn (Parker) 0:58

CD 2

01. Sometime Ago (Brookmeyer) 6:31
02. Incoherent Blues (Terry) 5:47
03. Straight No Chaser (Monk) 11:10
04. Weep (McFarland) 7:40
05. Hum (Brookmeyer) 5:57
06. Pretty Girl (Brookmeyer) 7:19
07. On the Alamo (Jones-Kahn) 10:45
08. The King (Basie) 7:15