About Me
James Peter Giuffre, (pronounced "Joo-free"), (April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz composer, arranger and saxophone and clarinet player.Born in Dallas, Texas, Giuffre first became known as an arranger for Woody Herman's big band, for which he wrote the celebrated "Four Brothers" (1947). He would continue to write creative, unusual arrangements throughout his career. He was a central figure in so-called West coast jazz and was a member of Shorty Rogers's groups before going solo.Instrumental playingGiuffre played clarinet (which he had begun learning at the age of nine, starting on an E-flat because his hands were too small for a B-flat), as well as tenor and baritone saxophones, but eventually focused on clarinet. His style was unique and distinctive, "having been self-formed, the only possible precedent having been the clarinet of Lester Young." [1] His early music was sometimes classified as cool jazz. Giuffre's early saxophone work has been favorably compared to Lester Young's, as well.TriosHis first trio consisted of Giuffre, guitarist Jim Hall and double bassist Ralph Pena (later replaced by Jim Atlas). They had a minor hit in 1957 when Giuffre's "The Train and the River" was featured on the television special The Sound of Jazz. This trio explored what Giuffre dubbed "blues-based folk jazz". This same special matched Giuffre with fellow clarinetist Pee Wee Russell for a leisurely jam session simply titled "Blues".When Atlas left the trio, Giuffre replaced him with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. This unusual instrumentation was partly inspired by Claude Debussy. The group can be seen performing in the film Jazz on a Summer's Day filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.In 1961, Giuffre formed a new trio with piano player Paul Bley and double bassist Steve Swallow. This group received little attention when they were active, but were later cited by some fans and musicians as among the most important groups in jazz history. They explored free jazz not in the loud, aggressive mode of Albert Ayler or Archie Shepp, but with a hushed, quiet focus more resembling chamber music. The trio's explorations of melody, harmony and rhythm are still as striking and radical as any in jazz. Thom Jurek has written that this trio's recordings are "one of the most essential documents regarding the other side of early-'60s jazz." [2]Improvised musicGiuffre, Bley and Swallow eventually explored wholly improvised music, several years ahead of the free improvisation boom in Europe. Jurek writes that Free Fall, their final record, "was such radical music, no one, literally no one, was ready for it and the group disbanded shortly thereafter on a night when they made only 35 cents apiece for a set." [3]In the early 1970s, Giuffre formed a new trio with bassist Kiyoshi Tokunaga and drummer Randy Kaye. Giuffre added instruments including bass flute and soprano saxophone to his arsenal. A later group included Pete Levin playing synthesizer and replaced Tokunaga with electric bassist Bob Nieske. This group recorded three albums for the Italian Soul Note label.Teaching and performingDuring the 1970s, Giuffre was hired by New York University to head its jazz ensemble, and to teach private lessons in saxophone and music composition. Into the 1990s, Giuffre continued teaching and performing. He recorded with Joe McPhee, and revived the trio with Bley and Swallow (though Swallow had switched to bass guitar, giving the group a different sound). Through the mid 1990s Giuffre taught at the New England Conservatory of Music. He suffered from Parkinson's Disease and in his last years he no longer performed. Giuffre died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on April 24, 2008, two days short of his 87th birthday.
