Customer Reviews

For All Time

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Columbia/Sony have finally completed the remastered re-rollout of all five Brubeck Quartet 'TIME' albums (each with extra tracks), and collected them here in a budget-priced box set.

The box in this case is simply a very sturdy slipcase holding the five individualy available jewel-cased cd's. Three of the albums, as detailed in another review here, have not been available for years, so this collection is a great and inexpensive way to sweep them all up at once.

For the record, the five albums are:

1 - TIME Out (1959), including the classic Desmond/Brubeck cut 'Take Five';

2 - TIME Further Out (1961) with 1 bonus track from the sessions plus a live 'Raggy Waltz' from the '63 Carnegie Hall shows;

3 - Countdown TIME in Outer Space (1961) with 1 bonus track;

4 - TIME Changes (1963-64) including the orchestral 'Elementals';

5 - TIME In (1965) with 3 bonus tracks, and the last of the Brubeck Quartet's 'time signature' albums.

Not included (though well worth picking up) is the 1954 'Brubeck Time', as its titular 'Time' refers to the news magazine's 1954 cover story on Brubeck and jazz rather than to the experiments in time signatures cut by the complete classic quartet.

Anyone enjoying this Time Box should also take a good hard look at Paul Desmond's 'Complete RCA' Box of his solo work for that label from '61-'65, including his reworking of the 'Take Five' theme called 'Take Ten'.

Short review:
This is a superb set. If you love: jazz, Brubeck, any one of the quartet members, superb musicianship, great drumming, great piano jazz, beautiful bass tone, beautiful alto sax tone... then buy this set

Long review:
I came to jazz late and discovered Time Out around 1995. I loved it. Till now I thought that was all there was this quartet produced (I admit I was ignorant). I fell in love with the bold experimentation of this group, and as a bassist myself I was inspired by Eugene Wright's bass sound.

Fast forward to 2004 and lo and behold, I discover this boxed set. My favorite jazz quartet playing with time... it was like discovering "lost" tunes by a favorite band and I couldn't resist purchasing it. Its been several days now and I am thrilled with it.

Several people have commented on the packaging being subpar. This may be true when compared to Columbia's Miles Davis sets which I don't own, but I happen to think the packaging is excellent. In particular I feel there is a unity to this set that must be rare in the history of jazz. Allow me to eloborate: 1) The same band was used for the entire set 2) The same (superb) recording studio was used (the famed NY 30th street), 3) The same exciting experimentation is used throughout the set, 3) The same producer was used (probably the most respected in jazz - Teo Macero), 4) The same engineer was available (and a top notch one at that! - Fred Plaut), 5) The same reissue director was used, 6) All tracks were remastered to greater than a CD's 16-bit sound quality (most are 24bits, the rest are 20... not sure it matters beyond 16bits but suffice it to say that it sound very good!), 7) The compositions are excellent working both as "background music" and music you can listen to in a trance-like state, 8) The CDs all have the same "look" - clear CD cases with original liner notes and additional notes from Brubeck, and 9) the cost is reasonable for 5 CDs.

I was afraid that this was going to be "Time Out" plus filler albums, but I assure you this is NOT the case. Time Out was the first album and not necessarily the best (at the moment I am partial to "Time in Outer Space" and "Time Explorations"). I don't know what else to say, I plan on listening to this for the rest of my life and am grateful that Columbia had the foresight to release this set. Do yourself a favor and buy this boxed set.

When I first encountered the Brubeck Quartet I could not get enough of the straight ahead jazz of these four, and did not venture beyond TIME OUT. I missed out on some fine albums as a consequence. This is my first taste of the remainder and these other four are worthy editions to own. Very well recorded, with quite good definition of Mr Wright's bass. Something of a bargain. An excellent companion to Mr Brubeck's own selection of his music on TIME SIGNATURES.

This is the HEAT. Everybody has heard or owns TIME OUT and maybe 10% of everybody has heard or owns TIME FURTHER OUT but almost nobody has heard or owns TIME IN OUTER SPACE or the next two titles from this line up. Thes guys were tight, tight and could cook like no others. Impossible time signatures were like flippin' burgers to these cats. Some of the tunes on discs 3-5, you would swear each musician is playing a different song or time/beat and yet it is melodic, musical and 100% enjoyable. I just can't recommend this box set enough.

Like some others, I own Time Out and was not familiar with all the other albums included in this box set. After reading some of the reviews that were posted here, I took a chance and purchased "For All Time." With the exception of the over-long Elementals, I was pretty impressed with just about every track on this five disc set. I have to say that this is indeed great music for the money and certainly earns a 5 star rating! Whether you are a long time Brubeck fan or just a casual listener of jazz music, this set is really a great buy and highly recommended...

For all time is a great box set that comprises the 5 albums of the Dave Brubeck Quartet from 1959-1966 which was Time Out, Time Further Out Time in Outer Space, Time Changes, and Time in. All of this is pure gold. Buy it immediatley.

For All Time isn't so much a box set as it is a collection of five individual CD's stuffed into a box. Because each CD runs about 40 minutes or less, Columbia could have easliy fit the material on 3 CD's and included a booklet. Of course, new packaging and art direction requires additional time and money on the label's part. Since this set actually costs about the same as a 3 CD set, it is an excellent value. It would cost significantly more to purchase each disc seperately. Plus, each disc includes detailed liner notes, thus eliminating the need for a seperate booklet. So, even if it is a "psuedo box set" it is a fine way to get some of Brubeck's finest recordings (inclding the iconic Time Out) on the cheap.

"For All Time" is an exciting new box set consisting of five legendary full-length albums by The Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959's "Time Out", 1961's "Time Further Out", 1962's "Countdown: Time In Outer Space", 1964's "Time Changes" and 1965's "Time In"). All feature the classic line-up of Brubeck on piano, Paul Desmond on alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on drums.
At the height of the quartet's popularity, Dave and company were consistantly experimenting with odd time signatures unique to jazz music during the time. All five CD's included in this box set highlight the group's flawless efforts in tackling original pieces in 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 7/8, 9/8 and even 11/4 and 13/4 in addition to the standard 3/4, 4/4, 6/8 and 8/8 meters.
Included are timeless classics such as the now-standards "Blue Rondo ala Turk" and "Take Five" as well as "It's A Raggy Waltz", "Unsquare Dance", "Castillan Blues", "Lost Waltz", "Lonesome", Someday My Prince Will Come" (from Disney's "Snow White") and the epic 16-minute orchestral piece "Elementals" (which closes the "Time changes" disc). Indeed, there aren't any unlikeable pieces on any of the five discs in this box set. This is music that can be played time and again and still sound fresh and new.
This is some genuine progressive music which predates what rock bands such as Yes, King Crimson and Genesis did by over a decade. Dave Brubeck is certainly not a rock musician but if you love adventerous music with some great usesage of odd meter, "For All Time" is definitely a must. Five full-length albums for under 50 dollars isn't a bad price tag either.

As a lad of about twenty, I caught up to the Brubeck/time-signature phenomenon by purchasing a 2-LP Columbia reissue entitled "Adventures in Time." I'm sure I beat that album to a pulp on various stereo systems, along with the Don Ellis Orchestra LPs that fascinated me at the time. Purchasing this 5-disc box set was like becoming reacquainted with a lot of old friends. The music (nearly all of it in any case) is first-rate, and I can't add any commentary that hasn't already been said dozens of times by innumerable Brubeck admirers. (The remastering to digital has notably cleared up one very nasty edit--a vestige of the bad old days of razor blades and adhesive mylar tape--that appears in the vinyl versions of "Cassandra." This track was evidently a splicing-together of two separate takes recorded at noticeably different tape speeds, and no one cared to adjust the speeds accordingly!)

Other reviewers have commented unfavorably about the packaging. My own gripe with the packaging doesn't concern materials and such, but rather its concept. Columbia chose to bundle these five CDs together as-is, an approach that is no doubt expedient and cost-effective, and which actually has its benefits (for the owner can appreciate the sequence of tunes, the very fine cover art, etc., exactly as they were originally released). But this bundling (as opposed to thoroughgoing repackaging) is much too rigid. I would have liked to hear more of the Quartet's tunes recorded in concert, particularly the "Take Five" that appears in "Adventures in Time." These live recordings bespeak a heightened improvisational energy, as well as increased confidence with the unusual time signatures, that is sometimes lacking in the studio recordings of the same tunes.

Now here's where the Brubeck Collector's Conundrum comes into play. What are the odds that someone who is entirely new to Brubeck will make this box set their first purchase? Practically nil, yes? It's almost impossible for me to envision someone working up an interest in this set unless they've already invested in "Time Out," and possibly "Time Further Out." By that point they will have already owned one, maybe two albums of the five. For my own part, I confess that I purchased the set only after Amazon had slashed the price from around $45 to $25.97. For my $26 I estimate that I got approximately 2 1/2 very short CDs' worth of music after I discount "Elementals," which still doesn't ring my chimes (sorry, folks...you can recite chapter-and-verse about what a great experiment in orchestral improvisation "Elementals" is, et cetera, but it's not likely I'll ever warm up to it).

Perhaps Amazon has anticipated the conundrum ahead of me, which may explain the substantial discount. In any event, if you must have this set, I recommend that you grab it while the discount is in place. Unless, of course, Columbia decides to repackage all of this material with the now-dormant "Time Signatures" set, in which case we REALLY have a conundrum on our hands...

Although the music on these cds ws experimental, even within the realm of jazz, it is allcompletly accessable to the dasual listener, like me and very pleasant to listen to. I got this on the recommencation of a poster of a home theater forum that I frequent. Like nearly everyone else, I had only heard TIME OUT (on LP, CD & SACD). At Amazon's price, this set has to be the best bargain in all of CDdom. It's even worth is at list price!

However, I disagree with the review who said that these five CDs could have been redused to three. The format used preseerves the original integrety of the collections presented here and allows the new listener to experience these albums as they were originally released with the benefit of the added insights from the additional liner notes.

Jack