Back in October 1978, guitarist Lenny Breau and clarinetist Brad Terry found themselves in the living room of Brad Terry's mother's house in downtown Brunswick, Maine. A tape recorder was there as well, thanks to Marshal Dodge, a Maine humorist and friend who donated the machine along with mics, stands and a shopping bag of tapes. According to Terry, Dodge said to him, “From now on record everything you do.”
Breau and Terry decided to record several songs. Both musicians were so proficient, the results sounded as if they had rehearsed in advance of the living-room session. In fact, they didn't. It was kismet.
Over a series of visits by Breau to the house, the pair completed 23 tracks in the living room and at local gigs. The tapes then sat on a shelf for years at Terry's place. As Terry wrote in the original liner notes, "From the first time we played together, at the Augusta Jazz Society [in Maine], we felt a magic quality about our communication and a mutual respect for each other."
The recordings show Breau to be an extraordinarily accomplished accompanist. On these sessions, he ran bass lines on his guitar, played rhythm, soloed lushly, comped behind Terry and traded bars with him. In addition to playing together, there are several solo tracks. On the duo recordings, there's a Jimmy Giuffre 3 feel, minus the bass. Breau's attack had a Jim Hall ring while Terry played with a taste for Giuffre's edge.
On Breau's final visit to see Terry, this time at his farmhouse, Terry talked about getting the tapes commercially released. Breau told Terry that the tapes were his to release as he wished. Terry did so after Breau's tragic death. On August 12, 1984, Breau's body had been found in a swimming pool at his apartment complex in Los Angeles. The coroner reported that Breau had been strangled. Though Breau's wife initially was suspected, she was not charged and the case was never solved.
As Terry wrote in the liner notes, "All of these tracks were recorded live and are here 'as is.' There were no rehearsals or second chances. The flaws have not been covered up with electronics. I feel that the energy and just plain fun involved in our playing more than compensates."
What makes this material especially beautiful is the relaxed and conversational quality of the playing. Terry and Breau clearly are deep in dialogue on each track, spinning melodies into textured, dimensional works. To my ears, the album is among Breau's finest, and I'm sure Terry feels the same about his own playing. Gorgeous and meaningful all around.
More on Lenny Breau at JazzWax here.
JazzWax tracks: Originally released as two volumes, they were united in 2003 and remastered with bonus tracks on The Complete Living Room Tapes here.
JazzWax tracks: Here's Emily...
Here's Stella By Starlight...
And here's Bill Evans's Remembering the Rain...
A special thanks to Rusty Rush, whose radio show each Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. (CDT) can be heard anywhere in the world by going here.
