Where technology meets art

Dennis Budimir, A Second Coming, 1961/63 – Los Angeles, CA

Jazz lovers have always had a fascination for a master of improvisation – even more so for one who remains largely undiscovered.  Budimir is one of those masters—quirky, searching, and wholly original; one feels a sense of restrained discovery in his playing. Listen closely to Dennis (with bassist Gary Peacock) on this tape and you will hear exactly that.  Although relatively unknown to the general public, he was instrumental in the 1959 – 1962 development of a particular arena of West Coast Jazz along with a handful of other superb musicians (Gary Peacock, Carmell Jones, and Bud Shank included) in a small Malibu club, the “Drift Inn.”   The performance presented here reflects that experience and, along with Gary Peacock on bass, it reaches conversational heights only possible with a previously shared growth, that mentioned above on the Malibu coast.  This simple setting of bass (Gary Peacock) and guitar (Dennis Budimir) brings out the stark mastery of each musician.  (However, to be precise, there is one track on this tape which adds drums, Bill Goodwin,  and substitutes bassist, Bobby West.) It is our loss that Dennis did not continue his jazz journey, as the call of the Hollywood studios was irresistible and provided Dennis a somewhat easier path than the struggle plaguing many jazz musicians. But we are blessed to have captured on tape this stunning moment in his career. Note: In a few places on the master tape, there is distortion on the guitar, which we hope will not take away from the masterful musicianship displayed. Engineering by John William Hrdy.