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
Discography
13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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The Artistry Of Buddy DeFranco
Jazz - Released by Verve Reissues on Jan 1, 1954
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pretty Moods By Buddy DeFranco
Jazz - Released by Verve Reissues on Dec 23, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Play Steve Allen
Jazz - Released by Fantasy Records on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cool & Quiet
Lennie Tristano, Buddy Defranco
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on Jan 1, 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cooking The Blues
Jazz - Released by Chameleon Archive on Jun 21, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Buenos Aires Concerts
Bebop - Released by Hep Records on Jun 9, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Know I Know
Jazz - Released by nagel heyer records on Jan 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo