Outstanding Clarinetists in the History of Jazz – Part 6
Jimmy Giuffre – The “Music Man”
A series by József Fritz
July 3, 2023
From the perspective of our series, Jimmy Giuffre might not seem particularly interesting, as he did not leave behind outstanding clarinet recordings or groundbreaking technical solutions. Yet, for a significant portion of modern jazz listeners, his name is often the first that comes to mind when thinking of a clarinetist.
The most appropriate word to describe him would be multi-instrumentalist, as in addition to the clarinet he played tenor and baritone saxophone, piano, and later added flutes and soprano saxophone to his arsenal.
Jimmy Giuffre was born on April 26, 1921, in Dallas, Texas, the son of Joseph Francis Giuffre (an Italian immigrant) and Everet McDaniel Giuffre.
He studied at Dallas Technical High School and later at the North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas College of Music). (Note: The University of North Texas is still ranked among the best jazz schools in the world today.)
He first gained recognition as an arranger for Woody Herman’s big band, when he wrote “Four Brothers” (1947). He did not appear on the original recording, where the famous saxophone lineup included Herbie Stewart, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Serge Chaloff. Giuffre later performed his own composition at Woody Herman’s farewell concert at Carnegie Hall in 1976, where the fourth “brother” alongside Zoot Sims and Stan Getz was Al Cohn.
Throughout his career, he wrote creative and unusual arrangements. He became a central figure in West Coast jazz and cool jazz.
In 1951, he joined the Howard Rumsey Lighthouse All Stars alongside Shorty Rogers and Shelly Manne. The Lighthouse club in Hermosa Beach, California, became the center of West Coast jazz during the 1952–53 period. During this time, Giuffre collaborated with Rogers on numerous works written for the All Stars.
The first recording released by the Lighthouse All Stars was “Big Boy,” co-written by Giuffre and Rogers, which became an immediate hit in Los Angeles.
In September 1953, he left the band and, before launching his solo career, joined Shorty Rogers and His Giants. At this stage of his career, Giuffre played predominantly tenor and baritone saxophone.
His first trio consisted of Jim Hall (guitar) and Ralph Peña (double bass), later replaced by Jim Atlas. Their breakthrough came in 1957, when Giuffre’s composition “The Train and the River” was featured in the television special The Sound of Jazz. Giuffre described this trio’s music as “blues-based folk jazz.”
In the same program, he also appeared in a relaxed jam session with fellow clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, performing a piece simply titled “Blues.”
When bassist Jim Atlas left the trio, Giuffre replaced him with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. This unusual instrumentation was partly inspired by Aaron Copland. The group can be seen performing “The Train and the River” in the film Jazz on a Summer’s Day, recorded live at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
In 1959, Giuffre led another trio with Jim Hall and bassist Buddy Clark at a concert in Rome, Italy, where they shared the stage with Gerry Mulligan’s band.
In 1961, Giuffre formed a new trio with Paul Bley (piano) and Steve Swallow (double bass). At this point, he began to focus primarily on the clarinet.
Although this group received little attention at the time, it was later regarded by some critics and musicians as one of the most important ensembles in jazz history.
Their exploration of free jazz did not follow the aggressive approach of Albert Ayler or Archie Shepp, but instead created a quiet, chamber music-like atmosphere. Their research into melody, harmony, and rhythm remains striking and radical even to modern ears.
According to Thom Jurek, the recordings of this trio are “among the most important documents of the other side of early 1960s jazz.”
Giuffre, Bley, and Swallow eventually explored completely improvised music, anticipating the rise of European free improvisation by several years.
Jurek writes that their final album, “Free Fall,” was “so radical that no one – literally no one – was ready for it,” and that the group soon broke up after a night when they earned only 35 cents per tune per set.
In the early 1970s, Giuffre formed a new trio with Kiyoshi Tokunaga (bass) and Randy Kaye (drums). He expanded his instrumental palette to include the bass flute and soprano saxophone.
In a later lineup, Pete Levin played synthesizer, and Bob Nieske replaced Tokunaga on bass guitar. This group recorded three albums for the Italian Soul Note label.
During the 1970s, Giuffre was invited by New York University to teach ensemble practice, as well as private lessons in saxophone and composition.
In the 1990s, Giuffre continued teaching and performing. He recorded with Joe McPhee and revived the trio with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow (although Swallow switched to electric bass, giving the group a different sound).
Until the mid-1990s, Giuffre taught at the New England Conservatory of Music. He later suffered from Parkinson’s disease and did not perform in his final years.
He died of pneumonia in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on April 24, 2008, two days before his 87th birthday.
His clarinet playing was strongly influenced by a saxophone-based approach, resulting in a tone far removed from the classical clarinet sound. Yet his playing remained warm, airy, and velvety, and his clarinet tone became an essential element of many West Coast jazz recordings.