Mellow Jazz

Howard Alden and Bucky Pizzarelli played together a number of times over the years during jazz parties and in concerts, though the two seven-string guitarists never made a full CD together until In a Mellow Tone (though Alden appeared on a few tracks of Pizzarelli's A Portrait). Both heirs to the legacy of guitarist George Van Eps (who popularized the instrument), these two masters make magic on any session in which either of them takes place; combining the two meant that there was no reason for any additional players.

Straightforward small combo jazz (basically an electric/acoustic piano trio with occasional guitar, reeds and percussion) of a kind that George Duke's detractors say he has long since abandoned, In a Mellow Tone is indubitably a mainstream jazz record with little adventurous spirit and a sound that occasionally even verges on the easy listening horrors of smooth jazz. However, as such albums go, it's more than pleasant, with Duke's underrated piano and Fender Rhodes technique driving the songs.

The Buddy DeFranco Quartet - In A Mellow Mood (1954) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 251 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 2013 Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9954
Jazz / Bop / Clarinet

In Memoriam. RIP Mr. Buddy. Buddy De Franco, a highly accomplished and exquisite jazz clarinetist who began his career in several leading swing bands of the 1940s before pivoting to bebop in the late 1940s and early '50s and teaming with leading jazz artists throughout the LP era, died on Dec. 24. He was 91. The album may be laidback, but it's hardly mellow at all – thanks to the presence of Sonny Clark on piano! The session's one of those great 50s pairings of Clark's piano and the clarinet of Buddy DeFranco – proof not only that Buddy could sound pretty darn soulful when he wanted, but also that he was always willing to grow and bring in some new ideas to his music.