Mark Stryker Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) Several folks on Twitter, including Terry Teachout and John Goldsby, are reporting that Bob Brookmeyer has died. Haven't yet seen other confirmation. Edited to add R.I.P. to thread title after this post. http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/2011/12/tt_bob_brookmeyer_rip.html Edited December 16, 2011 by Mark Stryker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Very, very sad. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) Very sad news. He would have been 82 on December 19. Edited December 16, 2011 by J.A.W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Indeed. I've come to Brookmeyer in recent years, initially via his later recordings, then going back to those of the 50s/60s for which he has most acclaim. The richness of his writing in latter day discs really touches me - he hits an almost Mahlerian level of sadness and longing. Saw him the once a few years back at Cheltenham playing for a few tunes in a UK band alongside Kenny Wheeler. R.I.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Oh my, this is so sad! I've learned so much from him about playing and writing over the years, and love so much of the great music he's created. Such a huge loss. Rest in Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Drat. Such a wonderful player, such a rich legacy. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 R.I.P. .... beauty and sophistication .... that's what he sounded like to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Definitely a character. He'll be missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 He left a lot of fine music behind and was a character indeed. Arguably, with occasional detours, he got better and better as a composer and a player. The length and the beauty of the melodies he improvised on "Jim Hall/Bob Brookmeyer at the Northsea Jazz Festival (Challenge) from 1979, is quite something. Heard him live about five years ago with the DePaul University Jazz Band, playing his pieces, and he was in great form. The Northsea album BTW is the perfect response to Andre Hodeir's semi-putdown of Brookmeyer in "Jazz Its Evolution in Essence" back in 1956: "These two young soloists [Chet Baker and Brookmeyer] have a conception of jazz that is much like his [Gerry Mulligan's]. It is based on a use of modern material (sonority, attack, various harmonic elements) in a resolutely traditional context.... The most debatable part of this conception is the resulting rhythmic vocabulary. Brookmeyer in particular seems to have a fondness for certain syncopated formulas and frankly corny accentuations that jazzmen had eliminated during the classical period [i.e. the 1930s]; he doesn't hesitate to use them side by side with a legato style of phrasing based on eighth notes. Few will deny that the result is asymmetry, a kind of hybrid.... When a writer who is qualified to speak on the subject says that Brookmeyer, in 'Open Country,' 'uses the lilt of 1930 Broadway songs with considerable wit,' how are we to imagine that he means this as praise rather than condemnation?" Yes, early Brookmeyer did seem to be the riding on a buckboard at times from a rhythmic point of view -- at times in a rather self-conscious ole-timey manner, at times I would guess not that way but just because -- but that went away eventually, while the "Broadway" strain that Hodeir speaks of just became extended into (at best) near endless mutating melodies. Both as a player and writer in later years, Brookmetyer seemed me to to be jazz's Sibelius, which is plenty OK in my book, though Hodeir might thank that the final condemenation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete C Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 R.I.P. I tangled with him online, but he was exemplary both on his horn and with his pen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Another major link to the core of jazz history is gone. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 this is a big loss. very sorry to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) fascinating guy - he was another, like Carisi, who represented the old modernism as it thoroughly rejected the new modernism. Nice guy too, in my few encounters. Edited December 16, 2011 by AllenLowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Terrible news. One of the masters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stereojack Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 This one really hurts. Brookmeyer was a true original - a brilliant player and composer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 I've been meaning to explore his work after enjoying what I've heard from him. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LWayne Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) Very sad news, but confirmed by Maria Schneider in an Artist Share email. RIP Bob and God Bless. LWayne Edited December 16, 2011 by LWayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolgerFreimutSchrick Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 The obit by Ottawa Citizen http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2011/12/16/r-i-p-bob-brookmeyer/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Friedman Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Sad news indeed. Brookmeyer was a multi-talented man who made a number of solid contributions to jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Sigh.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Saw him the once a few years back at Cheltenham playing for a few tunes in a UK band alongside Kenny Wheeler. What sad news to log into, after a rough 250 mile car drive. Like Bev, the one time I saw Bob Brookmeyer play was at Cheltenham and I'm very glad I saw it. A true master of the valve trombone - and an excellent arranger. Loved his work with Thad & Mel and also the collaborations with Clark Terry. RIP Mr Brookmeyer, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 cliff price, tasteful host on wkcr is nw presenting a 3 hour tribute to mr. brookmeyer. wkcr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcello Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Oh no, this is sad news! He was on so many great albums, played in so many great bands, from Mulligan's quartet and sextet the CJB, the Giuffre 3, the Jones-Lewis Orchestra. Love his playing! r.i.p. and thank you so much for all the great music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardbopjazz Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Wow, so sad to read this. R.I.P. Bob. Thanks for all the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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