Brookmeyer was born on Dec. 19, 1929, in Kansas City, Mo., the only child of Elmer Edward Brookmeyer and the former Mayme Seifert. He began playing music professionally as a teenager and attended the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, but left before graduating
Brookmeyer played piano with the big bands of Tex Beneke and Ray McKinley, but switched his focus to valve trombone when he was with the Claude Thornhill orchestra in the early 1950s.
While active on the New York jazz scene in the 1950s and ’60s, Brookmeyer was also busy in the city’s television and recording studios. He was in the house band for “The Merv Griffin Show” and wrote arrangements for Ray Charles and others. He abandoned the uncertainties of the jazz life for the financial security of full-time studio work after moving to Los Angeles in 1968.
In the 1960s he also worked as a studio musician, co-led a quintet with Clark Terry and worked in and wrote for the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. In 1980 this band recorded an album of his compositions/arrangements on which two tracks featured Terry.
During his decade on the West Coast he struggled with a serious drinking problem and, after overcoming it, briefly considered quitting music to become an alcoholism counselor. Instead, in 1978, he returned to jazz, and to New York.
Brookmeyer’s primary instrument was an unusual one: the valve trombone, played with valves like a trumpet’s rather than a slide. His big, blurry sound and graceful style were an integral part of small groups led by the saxophonists Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan and the clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre in the 1950s, as well as a popular quintet he co-led with the trumpeter Clark Terry in the 1960s. He was also an occasional pianist, good enough to have held his own on a two-piano album with a master of that instrument, Bill Evans, in 1959.
But he was best known for his writing, especially his arrangements for big bands, which at their best captured the spirit of past masters like Duke Ellington and Count Basie while remaining thoroughly contemporary. His charts in the 1960s for Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra helped invigorate the big-band genre at a time when many critics considered it moribund. He later expanded his palette to include ideas from modern classical music.
After a period in Europe, he returned to the United States, where he continued to write and record. Bob Brookmeyer also taught jazz composition at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
He was a highly respected teacher, at the New England Conservatory of Music and elsewhere, including a music school he founded and ran for several years in the Netherlands. Many of the best-known members of the current generation of bandleaders consider him a mentor, among them Maria Schneider, who studied under him at the New England Conservatory.
In June 2005, Brookmeyer joined ArtistShare and announced a project to fund an upcoming third album featuring his New Art Orchestra. The resulting Grammy-nominated CD, titled Spirit Music, was released in summer 2006.
Brookmeyer, who lived in Grantham, N.H., was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He recently received the eighth Grammy Award nomination of his career (none of the previous seven had resulted in a victory) for an arrangement from the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra’s album Forever Lasting.
In September 2011, possibly his last recording Standards was released. It features the New Art Orchestra with vocalist Fay Claassen.
He died December 15, 2011.
The Man I Love
Bob Brookmeyer Lyrics
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Every night I dream a little dream
And of course Prince Charming is the theme
The he, for me.
Although I realize as well as you
It is seldom that a dream comes true,
To me it's clear
That he'll appear.
Some day he'll come along, the man I love
And he'll be big and strong, the man I love
And when he comes my way,
I'll do my best to make him stay.
He'll look at me and smile, I'll understand
And in a little while, he'll take my hand
And though it seems absurd
I know we both won't say a word.
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday,
Maybe Monday, maybe not
Still I'm sure to meet him one day
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day.
He'll build a little home just meant for two
From which I'll never roam, who would? would you?
And so, all else above,
I'm waiting for the man I love.
The lyrics of Bob Brookmeyer's song The Man I Love express the longing for a love that is yet to be fulfilled. The singer talks about her dream of finding her Prince Charming, and how she believes that one day he will come along. She acknowledges that it is uncommon for dreams to come true, but she remains optimistic that her love story will have a happy ending.
The lyrics speak to the idea of true love, the kind that lasts a lifetime. The singer is looking for a love that is strong, pure, and enduring. She talks about how she will try her best to make him stay when he comes her way, indicating that she is not taking love for granted.
The singer's hope and faith in finding the man she loves is evident throughout the song. She talks about the anticipation of his arrival, believing that one day she will meet him. Despite not being sure when she will meet him, she remains hopeful, saying that maybe someday it will happen. It is a song that speaks to the romantic side in all of us, expressing the universal feeling of longing for true love.
Line by Line Meaning
When the mellow moon begins to beam
Every night, when the moon is shining, I start to dream of my ideal partner.
Every night I dream a little dream
Every night, I have a fantasy about meeting the perfect man.
And of course Prince Charming is the theme
My dream is always centered around having a Prince Charming come into my life.
The he, for me.
I am convinced that there is a perfect man out there who is meant for me.
Although I realize as well as you
I understand that it is unlikely that my dream will come true.
It is seldom that a dream comes true,
Dreams rarely become a reality.
To me it's clear
Despite the odds, I know in my heart that this man will come into my life one day.
That he'll appear.
I believe that the man of my dreams will come into my life.
Some day he'll come along, the man I love
I am certain that my soulmate will appear someday.
And he'll be big and strong, the man I love
The perfect man for me will be strong and reliable.
And when he comes my way,
When he finally comes into my life,
I'll do my best to make him stay.
I will make sure that he never wants to leave me.
He'll look at me and smile, I'll understand
We will share a connection that needs no words.
And in a little while, he'll take my hand
We will connect, and he will take my hand in a gesture of love.
And though it seems absurd
Even though this may seem unrealistic,
I know we both won't say a word.
We will both understand each other without words.
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday,
Perhaps we will meet on a Sunday.
Maybe Monday, maybe not
It could be any day of the week.
Still I'm sure to meet him one day
Despite not knowing when, I am certain that we will one day cross paths.
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day.
Perhaps it will be a Tuesday when I finally meet my soulmate.
He'll build a little home just meant for two
We will create a special place that is just for us.
From which I'll never roam, who would? would you?
I will never want to leave because he will make that place feel like home.
And so, all else above,
Despite everything else I may encounter,
I'm waiting for the man I love.
I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of my perfect partner.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind