CiTR

Tonight's Feature is by clarinettist/tenor saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre. Giuffre was a musician who had a very wide range and was not restricted to any one style, yet everything he did was marked by a strong individual identity. This recording, done at the legendary New York club, The Five Spot, marked another change for Giuffre. Gone was the quiet, blues and folk based trio. This is a blowing date and Giuffre makes the most of it with this hand picked group of players. Jimmy's clarinet is featured on three tunes and even there the difference is apparent as Jimmy explores the instrument's full range rather than just the low register as he had done in the past. His tenor work is hard driving and intense and he obviously was listening to Rollins and Stitt. Jimmy is no slouch on tenor and he blows up a storm on three pieces. Jim Hall on guitar had just moved to New York and his fine work here foreshadows his work with Sonny Rollins the following year. Buell Neidlinger is strong on bass and shows that he can work in a "straight-ahead" context. Buell had been working with Cecil Taylor when this date was done. Billy Osborne was just one of the many fine and lesser known drummers around New York at the time. Billy played with everybody but never got on very many record dates. The same fate befell guys like Sir John Godfrey and Clarence "Scoby" Stroman and others. Billy also suffered a discographical error as he was listed as "Billy Higgins" in most books. Discographer Tom Lord corrected this .The tunes are two standards played on clarinet plus a Giuffre original called "The Quiet Time". The tenor tunes are Monk's "Wee See", Giuffre's "Two For Timbuktoo" and "The Crab". This rare date originally came out on Verve and was called "In Person". Enjoy another side of Jimmy Giuffre tonight.