and surprisingly pricy, given that Desmond is not otherwise super collectible and doesn't really attract the big hard bop/spiritual jazz/rare grooves collectors. They're missing out, b/c it's lovely music. Mellow, forlorn with Hall's pristine lines and Desmond's dry, peppery tone.
It often gets filed under "easy listening," and it's true that it's edgeless and sometimes bordering on audio furniture. But it's also pure melodic improvisation of the highest order and can be immensely satisfying in the background or the foreground. In other words, I just couldn't resist.
I have this as a CD box set - just so good. Couldn't agree more with everything you said. Which album is your favorite in the bunch? I go back and forth but can't get past Easy living, which is supposed to be a bunch of unused "lesser" tracks.
Lately, it's been Glad to Be Unhappy. That and Bossa Antigua seem really hard to find on LP and are also $$. And the old RCA discs can be noisy. So, I picked up a Mosaic LP boxset as a compromise. I have a contemporary reissue of First Place Again and a couple copies of Desmond Blue (also great). It's too bad not to get the original covers with the Mosaic set, but they're usually good pressings.
It's funny b/c, as a recovering drummer, I usually like to hear more active rhythm section interplay, and Connie Kay, especially, just holds it down and rarely anything more than that. But I like Desmond and his tone and his effortless lines so much, it scarcely seems to matter.
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