Jimmy Giuffre

Genres:	Jazz
Descriptive "tags":	jazz • free jazz • cool jazz • clarinet • west coast jazz
Decades Active:	1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s
Links online:	BBC Music • Wikipedia

Biography

James Peter Giuffre, 26 April 1921, Dallas, Texas, USA, d. 24 April 2008, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA. A graduate of the North Texas College in 1942, Giuffre entered the US Army where he gained professional band experience playing saxophones and clarinet. On his discharge he played in a succession of big bands, including those led by Buddy Rich, Jimmy Dorsey, Boyd Raeburn and Woody Herman. It was with Herman that Giuffre gained most attention, both as a member of the saxophone section and as the composer of ‘Four Brothers’, which gave that particular Herman band its tag. After leaving Herman he worked on the west coast, playing mostly in small groups, and also began to teach. He formed a trio that included Jim Hall and, later, Bob Brookmeyer plus various bass players. Giuffre appeared at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and in the filmed record of the event, Jazz On A Summer’s Day (1960), playing his own composition ‘The Train And The...

Read the Full Biography of Jimmy Giuffre