Blossom Dearie
Once in the 1970s Paul Desmond and I went to the lower Manhattan club Reno Sweeney to hear Dearie's trio alternating with the Bill Evans Trio. When I commented that there was a similarity in their piano playing, Desmond gave me a long look and said, "Of course." That point has come up the past day or two in online discussions. On the Jazz West Coast listserve, bassist Bill Crow, who often heard both pianists, said he thinks they arrived at the resemblance by separate routes.
Blossom's piano playing was probably influenced a lot by Ellis Larkins. She voiced like he did, and had that same delicate touch. Bill Evans' early playing reflected a lot of Lennie Tristano... I'm sure he must have heard Blossom when she was around the Village, but I think he worked his ideas out pretty much by himself.
I've seen no more heartfelt tribute to Ms. Dearie than that of my artsjournal colleague Terry Teachout. He ends his post with a rare video that discloses all of her musical facets, including the swing that that was integral to her art. She implied irresisitible rhythm at even the slowest tempos. To read Terry's piece and see the video, click here.
There are two other videos on YouTube that I recommend you watch. I would put them here, but at the request of, I presume, the Dearie estate, embedding is blocked. On one she sings and plays "I Won't Dance," on the other, "Lucky To Be Me."
Fortunately, several Blossom Dearie CDs are available. You'll find an assortment of them here. If you're thinking of starting a Blossom Dearie shelf, this CD has a generous cross-section of her Verve recordings with Ray Brown on bass and Jo Jones on drums.
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