Brew Moore
Brew Moore | |
---|---|
Birth name | Milton Aubrey Moore |
Born | Indianola, Mississippi, U.S. | March 26, 1924
Died | August 19, 1973 | (aged 49)
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Tenor saxophone |
Milton Aubrey "Brew" Moore (March 26, 1924 – August 19, 1973)[1] was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Early life
He was born in Indianola, Mississippi, United States.[1] Moore's formal musical training began at twelve, first on trombone, then clarinet before switching to tenor saxophone.[1] Inspired by the style of Lester Young, he gained his first professional experience playing in a Texas territorial band the summer before entering college.
Professional career
Moore left the University of Mississippi in his first year to pursue a performing career, with periods in New Orleans, Memphis and New York City (twice) between 1942-47. In New York, he first heard the new music called bebop. As one who idolized Young (he even held his saxophone at the same unorthodox 120 degree angle), Moore was at first uncomfortable with it, but as he recalled for The New York Times critic John S. Wilson in 1968: "When I heard what Bird (Charlie Parker) had done for himself, I realized that Pres was not the complete messiah. So I combined Bird and Pres and my own thing."[2]
Returning to New York in 1948, Moore became a fixture on the city's jazz scene, cutting his first sides as a leader ("Brew Moore and His Playboys,"
He left New York in 1954 for the West Coast, settling eventually in
Influence and legacy
In the liner notes for a Storyville Records issue, critic Alun Morgan suggests in liner notes for the CD reissue No More Brew that Moore's "total discography is small for a man of his musical stature" because of the saxophonist's unswerving adherence to his Lestorian roots. As critic Scott Yanow observed: "In the early '50s, [Moore] recorded . . . with fellow tenors Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Alan Eager; at the time, they all sounded identical. Moore was the only one of the five who did not change his sound through the years."[6]
Alternatively, Danish scholar Soren Schou has likened Moore's "epic melodist" playing to writing a novel and contrasted it with the concentrated "short story" approach practiced by post-Bird improvisers.[7] Certainly Moore's expansive style of playing tested the attention span of post-bop era listeners. (In evidence of this, one is referred to his X-rated comments to an apparently less than fully engaged Stockholm audience while introducing "Manny's Tune" on "No More Brew," Storyville CD 8275, 1998.)
Moore himself told critic Ralph J. Gleason in 1954: "The idea of playing for me is to compose a different, not always better I'm afraid, melody on the tune and basis of the original song, rather than construct a series of chord progressions around the original chords." An idea the more pre-bop inclined Gleason clearly approved of, noting that Moore "has two absolutely golden gifts. He swings like mad and he has soul . . . he also has a priceless gift for phrasing. . . . When Brew says it, he says it simply, but it rings true."[8]
Discography
As leader
- The Brew Moore Quintet (Fantasy, 1956)
- Brew Moore (Fantasy, 1958)
- Brew Moore in Europe (Debut, 1962)
- Brew's Stockholm Dew (Sonet, 1972)
- No More Brew (Storyville, 1981)
- Fru'n Brew with Tony Fruscella (Spotlite, 1981)
- If I Had You (SteepleChase, 1982)
- I Should Care (SteepleChase, 1982)
- The 1954 Unissued Atlantic Session with Tony Fruscella (Fresh Sound, 2011)
- Live in Europe 1961 (Sonorama, 2015)
As sideman
- Slim Gaillard, At Birdland (Hep, 1979)
- Stan Getz, The Brothers (Prestige, 1956)
- Ray Nance, Body and Soul (Solid State, 1970)
- Cal Tjader, Tjader Plays Tjazz (Fantasy, 1956)
- Cal Tjader, Latin Kick (Fantasy, 1959)
- George Wallington, The George Wallington Trio (Savoy, 1956)
- Chuck Wayne, The Jazz Guitarist (Savoy, 1956)
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ John S. Wilson, "Brew Moore, Saxophonist, Back After Two Decades." The New York Times, September 11, 1968.
- ^ "Prestige Records Discography: 1949-1950". Jazzdisco.org.
- ^ Mark Gardner, Liner notes to I Should Care, SteepleChase, 1993
- ^ Larry Kart, Jazz and Jack Kerouac (see references)
- ^ Scott Yanow, Brew Moore, AllMusic
- ^ Søren Schou, "Brew Moore – En Melodisk Epiker," Tidsskrift: Jazz Special, No. 62, 2002.
- ^ Ralph Gleason, Original liner notes to The Brew Moore Quintet, Fantasy, 1954
References
- "Brew Moore Dies; Jazz Musician, 49," The New York Times, August 20, 1973.
- "Brew Moore," Jazz Professional
- Attarian, Hrayr, "Brew Moore," All About Jazz
- Gardner, Mark, Brew Moore Quartet - I Should Care (Notes) SteepleChase CD 36019 1993 reissue of 1965 broadcast recording
- Gitler, Ira, "Brothers and Other Mothers" (Review)
- Gleason, Ralph, The Brew Moore Quintet (Notes), Fantasy, 1956 (CD reissue 1993).
- Morgan, Alun, Brew Moore – No More Brew (Notes), Storyville, 1998 (Originally recorded for Danske Radio in 1971.)
- Neely, Mike, "The Brew Moore Quintet" (Review)
- Schou, Søren, "Brew Moore – En Melodisk Epiker," Tidsskrift: Jazz Special, No. 62, 2002.
- Sjösten, Lars, "Remembrances of Brew Moore,"
- Wiedemann, Erik, Brew Moore - Svinget 14 (Notes), Black Lion CD760164, 1991 reissue of 1961 recording.
- Wilson, John S., "Brew Moore, Saxophonist, Back After Two Decades." The New York Times, September 11, 1968.