Buddy Defranco
Buddy DeFranco is one of the great clarinetists of all time and, until the rise of Eddie Daniels, he was indisputably the top clarinetist to emerge since 1940. It was DeFranco's misfortune to be the best on an instrument that after the swing era dropped drastically in popularity and, unlike Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, he has never been a household name for the general public.
When he was 14, DeFranco won an amateur swing contest sponsored by Tommy Dorsey. After working with the big bands of Gene Krupa (1941-1942) and Charlie Barnet (1943-1944), he was with TD on and off during 1944-1948. DeFranco, other than spending part of 1950 with Count Basie's septet, was mostly a bandleader from then on. Among the few clarinetists to transfer the language of Charlie Parker onto his instrument, DeFranco has won a countless number of polls and appeared with the Metronome All-Stars in the late '40s. He recorded frequently in the '50s (among his sidemen were Art Blakey, Kenny Drew, and Sonny Clark) and participated in some of Norman Granz's Verve jam session. During 1960-1963 DeFranco led a quartet that also featured the accordion of Tommy Gumina and he recorded an album with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers on which he played bass clarinet. Work, however, was difficult to find in the '60s, leading DeFranco to accept the assignment of leading the Glenn Miller ghost band (1966-1974). He has found more artistic success co-leading a quintet with Terry Gibbs off and on since the early '80s and has recorded throughout the decades for many labels.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Express Yourself
Buddy DeFranco, Oscar Peterson
Jazz - Released by sinderella on 7 Dec 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Delicious Dishes
Jazz - Released by umore catalog on 18 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Dark City Nights
Jazz - Released by umore catalog on 12 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Waltz When the Lillies of the Valley Bloom again
Jazz - Released by the valley bloom again on 12 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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I Like My Morning Jacket
Jazz - Released by Music Is Life on 5 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Because I Am Your Friend
Jazz - Released by Because I Am Your Friend on 23 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Little Plain Gold Ring
Jazz - Released by plain gold ring on 16 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Light in the Dark Forest
Jazz - Released by Dark Forest on 25 Aug 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo