Customer Reviews

At Carnegie Hall

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great recording, and I've been impatiently waiting for the CD release. There's no point in detailing the highlights, because Dave's notes on the original LP say it all succinctly -- it was an "ordinary" date that caught fire -- and then burned the house down. The energy builds magically from a fine "St. Louis Blues" to breathtaking, definitive versions of "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "Take Five." (If you felt "Rondo" and "Five" were tentative in the original recordings, this CD set will satisfy you at last.) For those lucky enough to have seen Morello, Desmond, Wright and Brubeck play together, this will capture the memories well, and maybe go the memories one better. For those who wonder what it was like to see one of the great ensembles of jazz, this is a complete concert and a peak experience.

This is no doubt the most important, most exciting representation of the post-Take 5 quartet on record. Both Brubeck and Desmond are on fire, and the rhythm section of Gene Wright and Joe Morello insures the flames remain bright. And unlike the studio album, "Take 5," the odd time signatures by this time have become so second-nature to the musicians that extended, extemporaneous improvisation is the order of the night. Simply put, "At Carnegie Hall" recalls the earlier college concert dates but with the addition of a state-of-the-art rhythm section and the bold, virtuosic confidence that come with experience and success.

At the same time, the earlier recordings have their own strengths. Nowhere does the quartet sound more genuinely inspired than on "Jazz at Oberlin," "Jazz at the College of the Pacific," and "Jazz Goes to College"--performances that are characterized by in-the-moment creation and the sheer joy of discovery. Listen to Brubeck's heavy-handed bitonality and polyrhythmic thunder on "St. Louis Blues" from the Carnegie Hall date. It's in many respects dramatic and engaging but in a calculated, crowd-arousing manner that is not the case on the earlier, 1950's live recordings. Even though the other members of the rhythm section--usually Bob Bates and Joe Dodge--are clearly not marquee musicians, they're as empathetic and supportive a pair of team players as the two emerging stars could ask for.

Forget "Time Out" and go directly to "At Carnegie Hall." But on the way be sure to check out Oberlin, College of the Pacific, and those other academic venues so vital to Brubeck's and any jazz listener's education.

This is by far the best concert the group ever gave and it is a pity it has taken so long to release it back on CD.

Right from the start the group hits it off with the old "St. Louis Blues" and from these first crucial moments in the concert everything went off like a Formula One race in the group. It is followed by a very jazzy Bossa Nova USA ( note the difference with the original sinle release!)and it goes on and on.

Brubecks multi-tonal approach combines magically with Desmonds understated palying. Gene Wright blends in fantastically on the bass and has some very impressive solo's and, of course, Joe Morello's solo on Castillian drums is made in heaven and one of a kind.

It seems that all worked for the Quartet that night and if you read Jazz anthologies this is the concert referred to. I don't think the band ever reached this level of playing again. Like the other reviewers; thank you for releasing this because the LP version started to be worn out more than a little bit.

[this review refers to the original vinyl recording]

Friday night, February 22nd, 1963 the Dave Brubeck Quartet performed at Carnegie Hall. They were unsure the concert would occur because New York City was in the midst of a newspaper strike, hence they were unable to fully advertise the performance. They had nothing to fear.

We, the listening audience, were lucky that the relatively new recording technique of "stereo fidelity recording" was mature enough that the performance was preserved in stereo: Columbia, who produced the original vinyl discs, released both a stereo and monaural version.

By luck, I was already a fan because of the famous single, "Take Five" and purchased the album at the local PX at the Army base in Kaiserslaurtern, Germany. While I've transferred the music to a digital format, I still love playing the vinyl records with headphones on and a glass of scotch at my side.

Simply the best 96 minutes of the Dave Brubeck Quartet available.

The import version of this album was out first but this version has much better mastering. The sound quality is amazing. I used to own the reel to reel tape versions years ago and this CD gets back to that quality (unlike the import version)

Oh, and like everyone else has said, this is one of the best two or three live jazz albums ever made.

Along with "Time Out" and "Timer Further Out," this is the absolutely essential Brubeck Quartet album. The rendition of "It's a Raggy Waltz" is one of my favorite jazz cuts of all time.

So why has this album not been available all these years?!? My old LP is completely worn out (and I no longer have a turntable, anyway). So thank you, thank you, thank you ... I can die happily now.

You'll love this album. Let me tell you why. What happened at that concert was something incredibly rare and special. The audience got completely involved, and that spurred the quartet on to amazing heights. To understand, it helps to know that Carnegie Hall is actually rather small, approximately 3,000 seats. A musician friend of mine played there recently, and she said the decor and acoustics are great, of course, but there's also a warmth and intimacy that encourages contact with the audience. That effect is evident on the album. They cooked. They swung. They were billiant. At the end, the audience even did a rhythmic clapping thing that, apparently, some European audiences do if especially pleased with a performance.

So if you like circa-1960 "modern" jazz, get it. You'll love it.

After that opening introduction, the listener then hears THE best live concert in the history of Jazz by a quartet. This is the best live performance, also, by THE number 1 quartet in the history of Jazz. EVER. Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Joe Morello, and Eugene Wright. Three leaders and the bass holding down the fort. The all-time, number 1 pianist, alto sax, and drummer. EVER. The concert? Carnegie Hall, 1963, at the height of the experimentation period of this group. St. Louis Blues, Bossa Nova U.S.A., Blue Rondo, Take Five, and the rest. The greatest hits of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Live. Inspired. If you listen carefully to this performance, every note belongs where it is. Perfect. Everything is perfect. Brubeck swings and is complex. Desmond is THE Manhattan urbane sax. Morello is just absolutely the best Jazz drummer ever, and I will defend that. Castillian Drums. Watit till you hear Castillian Drums. An over extended drum solo where you are saying, "Where does this guy get these ideas". (I saw him play at William Paterson in New Jersey a few years ago, and you can't see the sticks, they move so fast.) The definitive version of Take Five, for me, extended Blue Rondo, and all the rest. Every song is absolutely perfect Jazz. Also, if you are not a Jazz person, you can follow their playing easily. That's another thing that was so great about them. Everyone swinging and inventing. This is a disc that everyone has to have in his Jazz collection. It is a performance that is so mind boggling, that everyone needs to hear this. This is the epitome of Jazz.

This concert captures the Dave Brubeck Quartet at their best. The whole group was nervous before getting on the stage, but the energy on this album is unstoppable from "St. Louis Blues" till "Take Five".
It's hard to pick highlights because the whole concert is awesome. "St. Louis Blues" gets the concert off the ground and then some. Brubeck's solo here is my favorite piano solo Brubeck did, building an interesting melodic idea until it explodes into a thundering climax, with Brubeck's heavy block-chords, and he stops when the intensity level is at its highest, paving the way for an awesome Joe Morello drum solo. And the concert is underway.
Another standout is Brubeck's treatment of "Pennies From Heaven", the melody heavily chorded. Also, one of Desmond's greatest solos is here, his creativity clearly ignited. Brubeck's percussive solo is also very impressive.
But, I think the second half of the concert is better, featuring songs from Time Out and Time Further Out. Every performance here is awesome, but the one that stands out the most is "Castilian Drums", featuring a lengthy but REMARKABLE drum solo from Joe Morello, one of the best drummers in jazz. It is a series of climaxes that brings the audience to a roar.
I would also say the Quartet playing "Blue Rondo" is awesome here. This performance is better than on the album Time Out, where it was first recorded. It is spend up considerably, but it works out so it builds up energy released when the guys solo during the blues section.
And, of course, the Quartet could not go home that night until they played "Take Five", and the audience immediately applauds when Brubeck plays the familiar vamp. There is also a piano solo by Brubeck, which was not done on the original version.

I would definitely recommend this to jazz fans in general, but especially Dave Brubeck fans. The Quartet is unstoppable on this CD, and they expand songs they've recorded to the point where some of the performances here are better than the studio versions. Don't miss out on this one!

Still available as an IMPORT, but now it's here for 1/2 as much, less! The WHOLE ALBUM IS GREAT, but I couldn't wait to receive it & put on my favorite, CASTILIAN DRUMS! This 13 1/2 min piece has an "8 min plus" drum solo in it, that will knock your socks off! It has (4) four separate beats, in the solo, at the same time! Joe Morello "IS" THE GREATEST DRUMMER! Not bad for a one-time virtuoso violinist at age 11! I'm glad he gave up that & went to drums. BUT THAT's not ALL! The group swings with EVERY PIECE! I agree with the other reviewers! From the start of ST. LOUIS BLUES, till the end with TAKE FIVE, the group's now famous signature piece by Paul Desmond, you will hear the electricity in the air of that 1963 performance. The liner notes, written from an interview given to George Simon by Dave, give some insight to the groups' performance that night & what was going on in the world in 1963, during the NY newspapers strike. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do? This is a MUST HAVE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET album! This CD should have a WARNING LABEL printed on it with the FOLLOWING... CAUTION: THIS ALBUM CAUSES "LEAD FOOT", I got a ticket going 75 in a 55mph zone in my old '68 442! Get it NOW!

At first I didn't connect with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. But experiencing them for the first time in person gave me the enthusiasm to follow the career of the finest jazz ensemble, I believe, ever meshed together. Now, place the Dave Brubeck Quartet (in its zenith during the 50s and 60s) in Carnegie Hall, NYC, mix with spontaneous "rides" by the consummate musicians, and the results -- one of the best examples of great American "classical" music available. Recently I bought the CD, after having two or three LP copies, and I must say I felt so elated and energized with the Quartet's
live" concert. As Dr.Seuss wrote "If I Ran the Zoo", I would make this required listening for every budding jazz student in every music class in the country. This is how it's supposed to be done. It's a splendid disc for long auto travels because it is so well recorded and delightfully interesting. You'd arrive at your destination refreshed and enchanted!
It was such a joy to hear this set (2 CDs) again. I have a whole lot of Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond CDs. And I do know why!
BUY IT NOW!!