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Young Lions & Old Tigers
Label: Telarc
Year: 1994
Released on LP: No
Released on CD: Yes
Tracks
1. Roy Hargrove
2. How High the Moon
3. Michael Brecker Waltz
4. Here Comes McBride
5. Joe Lovano Tango
6. In Your Own Sweet Way
7. Joshua Redman
8. Together
9. Moody
10. Gerry-Go-Round
11. Ronnie Buttacavoli
12. Deep in a Dream
Personnel
Dave Brubeck (piano)Chris Brubeck (electric bass)
Randy Jones (drums)
Jack Six (bass)
Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax)
Roy Hargrove (trumpet)
Michael Brecker (tenor sax)
Jon Hendricks (vocals)
Joe Lovano (tenor sax)
George Shearing (piano)
Joshua Redman (tenor sax)
Ronnie Buttacavoli (fruglehorn)
Christian Mc Bride (bass)
James Moody (tenor sax,vocals)
Notes
In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Dave states "I wrote a special tune for each guy.When the idea of the album was given to me, I wondered it they would want to play with an old guy like me. But they told me that everyone had already said yes."
After Dave's death, Joe Lovano in a tribute message stated "One of the greatest honors of my career was when he called me to record with him on his record “Young Lions and Old Tigers” along with Roy Hargrove, Michael Brecker, Christian McBride, Joshua Redman, James Moody, George Shearing, Jon Hendricks and Gerry Mulligan. It was 1995 release to commemorate Dave’s 75th birthday and to my surprise he wrote a tune on the way to the studio for me. He called it “The Joe Lovano Tango” – a very hip modal piece that I was able to shape and express freely within. Dave was great to work with and very insightful".
Reviews
Concord Music Group - Copyright
Celebrating his 75th birthday, Dave Brubeck hosts three generations of modern jazzmen on his new release, Young Lions & Old Tigers. Three lush standards anchor a collage of nine Brubeck originals written especially for each honored soloist.
All Music Guide – review – Copyright
To celebrate his 75th birthday, Dave Brubeck recorded one number apiece with quite a variety of top jazz stars, both young and old. Some of the performances (which alternate duets with quartets) work better than others (eight are recent Brubeck compositions) but all of the musicians display mutual respect, and it is obvious that the guests are all fans of the still-masterful pianist. Trumpeter Roy Hargrove plays beautifully on his lyrical feature but Jon Hendricks, who sings "How High the Moon" as a ballad, takes it at such a slow tempo as to be dreary.
Tenor-saxophonist Michael Brecker is fine on "Michael Brecker Waltz," although he sounds a bit restrained, the wittily-titled "Here Comes McBride" is a good-humored romp with bassist Christian McBride; Joe Lovano (on tenor) works well with Brubeck, and particularly memorable is the first meeting on record between Brubeck and fellow pianist George Shearing, with a chance-taking interpretation of "In Your Own Sweet Way."
Joshua Redman performs fine hard bop on one song, "Together," is a well-conceived duet for baritonist Gerry Mulligan and Brubeck, James Moody plays tenor, sings, and yodels on the minor blues "Moody," Mulligan returns for the contrapuntal "Gerry-Go-Round," and, although the obscure flugelhornist Ronnie Buttacavoli sounds very out of place on his boring feature, the set closes with one of the strongest performances, a solo piano showcase for Brubeck on "Deep in a Dream."
Overall, this is quite a mixed bag but, even with its occasional misses, the CD is a must for Dave Brubeck fans, because the pianist is consistently inventive throughout the unusual set.
Scott Yanow
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