Tivoli Gardens

Product Description:

Personnel: Stephane Grappelli (violin); Joe Pass (guitar); Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (bass).

Norman Granz has remained consistent in his production style--from the Jazz at the Philharmonic recordings he has coordinated to the countless Pablo releases he has brought into being. He has always put trust in the notion that good things will happen if you get a handful of great jazz players in the same room and step back. They usually do, of course, but the flip side is that you don't usually get many surprises in terms of repertoire. Anything more than head arrangements is pretty much out of the question. Considering that most people think of jazz as an improviser's art, that's a significant quibble. But Granz has certainly provided the world with many hours of undiluted small-group blowing by a wide assortment of swing and bebop masters.

On TIVOLI GARDENS, guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels Pedersen join violinist Stephane Grapelli (one of the most effervescent musicians on any instrument) for a characteristically club-like set of not-unfamiliar standards. Pass' muscular solos are constructed from driving, blues-inflected bebop lines, and he and Pedersen provide a rugged, swinging backdrop for Grapelli's effortless romps.