Float Like a Butterfly

Producer Bob Magnuson concludes his brief liner notes for the Mike Longo Trio's Float Like a Butterfly by writing, "The future of contemporary bebop is bright, and Mike Longo is one of those leading the way." The phrase "contemporary bebop" is a curious one, since it suggests that bebop is a style of music that has continued to evolve since it emerged after World War II, when in fact it began being superseded by other styles of jazz as long ago as the late '50s. By 2007, there was no "contemporary bebop," any more than there was a "contemporary ragtime." The only sense in which the Longo album can be considered "contemporary" is that it was recorded in the 21st century, shortly before its release, rather than back in the '50s when, by the style of playing, it could have been. Pianist Longo is a longtime sideman for Dizzy Gillespie and a proud protégé of Oscar Peterson, to whom he dedicates the album. In his notes, he recalls being turned on to jazz by hearing Peterson play "Tenderly" "when I was in the 10th grade." Given that he was born in 1939, that would have been back in the mid-'50s, so it's appropriate that the playing here and the covers of pop standards like "Tenderly" and "Laura" as well as works by Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Thelonious Monk hark back 50-plus years. Longo, a music teacher and author of music textbooks, is presenting his accumulated knowledge of bebop on this album, along with his rhythm section of Paul West (bass) and Jimmy Wormworth (drums). It would be more accurate to paraphrase Magnuson and say of the album that the future of traditional bebop as a scholarly pursuit is assured, and Mike Longo is one of its leading archivists.