Thursday, May 19, 2005

Free Jimmy

When you think of the advent of freely improvised jazz, you probably think of Coltrane, Ornette Coleman of course, Pharoah Sanders and Albert Ayler, among others. Less likely to come to mind is Jimmy Giuffre, but the former big band clarinetist really was a free jazz pioneer.

"Free Fall," a CD reissue of the third album cut by his trio with bassist Steve Swallow and pianist Paul Bley, is a good example with a mix of improvisations by all three, Giuffre and Swallow in a duo and Giuffre alone ranging in length from two to 10 minutes. These guys broke up not long after, when they made 35 cents each at a gig.

Thankfully, they got back together 30 years later and did "Fly Away Little Bird," another good CD that shows they haven't stopped exploring. Giuffre even sings for the first time ever on the disk and while he's not exactly Louis Armstrong, it's a logical extension of Armstrong's singing in the same way that deftly executed instrumental free jazz is a logical extension of traditional instrumental jazz.

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