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Anyone remotely familiar with “Take Five” will recognize Paul Desmond’s dry, feathery alto instantly.
However, Desmond often lived in Brubeck’s shadow, and many may not know that Desmond also
recorded several fine albums as a leader as well. Brubeck and Desmond had an unwritten contract
that the altoist would not play with any other pianist, and Desmond was lucky enough to enlist
guitarist Jim Hall as a sideman. Hall has a light, nuanced style more suited to Desmond’s approach
than Rollins’ on the previous album, and the two crafted five albums of excellent understated cool
jazz.
Cool Imagination is probably all the Desmond that anyone will really need, although the
devoted
will want to seek out the excellent RCA set that collects all of Desmond’s recordings with Hall. If
there’s a fault to this compilation, it’s that the selection leans too heavily on the ballads and the
whole thing comes off as a bit maudlin and sentimental; only “Alone Together” documents
Desmond’s ability to swing at a faster tempo. Also, the selections from the over-represented
Desmond Blue, saturated by orchestration from Bob Prince, sound like the soundtrack to
Disney
movies and may not be to everyone’s taste. Also included are two fine tracks featuring Gerry
Mulligan, off of Two Of A Mind, a disc not included in the RCA box.
Despite its faults, Cool Imagination demonstrates how Hall’s shimmering chords and
Desmond’s
cool alto were a great match. Fans of Brubeck will definitely enjoy this collection, as will anyone who
enjoys the cool school of jazz improvisation.
See Combing the Bluebird Catalog for
related reviews.
Visit www.bluebirdjazz.com on the web.
~ David Rickert
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Track Listing: 1. Imagination 2. A Ship Without A Sail 3. Desmond Blue 4. Glad To Be Unhappy 5. That Old Feeling
6. Out Of Nowhere 7. Samba Cantina 8. Here’s That Rainy Day 9. Alone Together 10. Bewitched 11.
Autumn Leaves 12. My Funny Valentine 13. Samba de Orfeu.
Personnel: Paul Desmond-alto sax; various others
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