Bob Brookmeyer

[Bach5G]

I’ve never been into Brookmeyer but recently I caught a bit of a jazz history class that had video of Bob playing some bop tune. It was really good.

More recently I’ve listening to his Walzing With Zoe with the New Art Orchestra. Exquisite music. Highly recommended.

What happens to the arrangements he would have done for these and similar projects? Was everything donated to a library somewhere?

[timbone]

There's a lot to cover here but I think some of his best recordings are the ones he did with Clark Terry. I was lucky to sit in on a Monday day rehearsal he was having with the Vanguard band. Great sound!

[cmcslide]

If you are interested in Bob's arrangements, they are sold from his website:

https://www.bobbrookmeyer.com/scores

[dukesboneman]

At one time I had just about everything Bob recorded as solo albums. Love his playing.
My 2 favs are "Into the Looking Glass " and "Olso"

[Bach5G]

If you are interested in Bob's arrangements, they are sold from his website:

https://www.bobbrookmeyer.com/scores

Thanks for that. The more I look into this, the more I realize I’ve just scratched the surface. He was a prolific composer it appears and had fruitful collaborations with the WDR band and New Art Orchestra, among others, much of which appears to be recorded and available on line. I wonder if an argument can be made that streaming at least keeps this music alive and accessible. Uneconomic to the artist and maybe even to Spotify and Apple.

At one point, Bob was considering taking up a position at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island but, it seemed, ran into some hurdles raised by Canada Immigration. He must have sorted these out to some extent because he later worked at the University of Brandon, in Manitoba, which, beyond the pleasures of a prairie sunset, has little to commend itself. But then, Bob was born in Missouri so maybe he felt at home.

He worked with nearly everyone over a long career but seems to have been under recognized for much of it, even in the trombone community. That’s my perception anyway. Happy to be corrected.

[Cmillar]

To know more about Brookmeyer, it's well worth buying the e-book/book written by Dave Rivello, available at the 'Artistshare' site.

Wonderful interview with his insights on musicians and music. Brookmeyer knew and played with Everyone since the 1950's. The book is a fantastic resource for his thoughts on composing and teaching.