Apropos of my posting about Bob Brookmeyer, jazz critic Doug Ramsey writes:
I might quibble with you about Brookmeyer being the greatest living jazz composer/arranger, and he might, too. Bill Holman
is alive, well, and more brilliant than ever. How nice to have such a close race.
As the saying goes, I’d hate to have to live off the difference. Holman was already damned good in the Fifties (back when he was dedicated to the proposition that even the Stan Kenton band could be made to swing), but he’s grown and grown and grown since then, to the point where he ranks with the best of the best. Alas, precious little of his recent music is currently available on CD, but between them, A View from the Side and Brilliant Corners: The Music of Thelonious Monk offer a pretty good snapshot of what he’s up to these days.