It's Easy To Forget Jimmy Giuffre

How many times have we sat around and discussed the greats? Too often to count. Let's face it though, we talk for an awfully long time before anyone mentions Jimmy Giuffre.

Jimmy showed us clarinets can be cool

Surprising isn't it? Perhaps he was always overshadowed by other players, but he was pushing boundaries and expanding the limits of jazz and everyone that followed him benefited from his explorations. I could go on about his history, about how he was part of the whole 'cool jazz' thing and played with Mulligan and was a great arranger and that he is my favourite clarinetist of all time, (who, as you can see from the clip, can also play a fine baritone and tenor and could probably swing on every instrument ever made if he set his mind to it) but instead I'll just direct you to this great song, 'The Train and the River' with his stellar trio featuring the wonderful Jim Hall on guitar. They two were certainly like minded and recorded a lot of wonderful, highly-recommended music together.
Don't you love the recording Giuffre made with the Modern Jazz Quartet at The Music Inn? That's another essential recording isn't it? Oh yes, and the album Sonny Stitt recorded with him is also wonderful. Jimmy, I could go on and on. Let's talk about him more often, okay?