Dave Brubeck Quartet Plays Music From West Side Story And Wonderful Town And More [Original recording remastered]

West Side Story (Related Recordings), Dave Brubeck | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 16, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B000002680
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,162 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Showstopping Showtunes!, August 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dave Brubeck Quartet Plays Music From West Side Story And Wonderful Town And More (Audio CD)

This a little-discussed set from the mid-1960's showing The Brubeck troupe taking on Broadway tunes. The entire record takes one y surprise. "Maria" is usually done as a smarmy, sultry ballad but the Quartet ups the tempo and creates a delightfully swinging piece. "Night And Day" is also usually recorded as a ballad but DBQ bangs the song out in a rollicking adventure. One of the best treatments of "What Is this Thing Called Love" appears on this record. The song is done at a slow, lilting almost melancholy tempo when Dave enters. Paul Desmond truly has the best sound and his solo on this piece is one of all time best! It is a tremendous improvisation and the inventiveness and lyricism is breathtaking. The CD also showcases Joe Morello's peerless drumming technique. He is original and his drumming is never quite the same on each song is unique and dynamic. Brubeck's solos experiment with dissonance here and he takes very big risks considering these are beloved love songs. Overall the CD is a great listen and it features the talented Quartet at the height of it's powers. Buy it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's No COOL, But It's Cool, December 13, 2008

By 

Unlucky Frank (Lalaland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music From West Side Story (Audio CD)

The full title is DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET PLAYS MUSIC FROM WEST SIDE STORY AND WONDERFUL TOWN. And, there are only four tunes from Bernstein's great Broadway Musical, West Side Story. The only tune from WT is Bernstein's QUIET GIRL. Before the recording of these culled sessions, between '62 and '65, the film of West Side Story had already swept The Academy Awards with 10 Oscars in 1961. But, as they did with DAVE DIGS DISNEY, Brubeck and Desmond turn these charts into their own vehicles for improvisational cool. Certainly, this is another West Coast Showcase for Paul Desmond on alto. Which is what I like most about The Quartet. SOMEWHERE from West Side Story is a unique interpretation and has a wonderful swing quality. But it's WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE? and THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD, by Cole Porter and Rogers & Hart, that are worth the whole price of admission on this one.

One wonders what The Quartet could have improvised from the COOL riff in WSS. "Got a rocket in your pocket." And, I can only imagine in my head what it would have sounded like, with Dave hammering out the rhythm and Desmond swinging cool on Bernstein's MAMBO riff. A missed opportunity.

But, don't miss this one. Along with DAVE DIGS DISNEY, and JAZZ GOES TO COLLEGE, it's another little Columbia Era gem from Brubeck & Co. Approx. 42 mins. But, the price is nice.

Enjoy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warning: New Edition Packing, January 6, 2010

By 

Dr. Debra Jan Bibel "World Music Explorer" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dave Brubeck Quartet Plays Music From West Side Story And Wonderful Town And More (Audio CD)

Aside from the excellent recordings of some Bernstein's music performed by the outstanding Dave Brubeck Quartet, a collector wants certain information about the music and engineering as well as reflective commentary that normally appears on liner notes. WARNING: this latest edition [2009] from the Legacy group of SONY [Columbia] lacks any such information; the insert is essentially naked. Moreover, the list of tracks lacks timing and the sequence is WRONG! Thus, we do not know even when the quartet was in the studio to produce this album. The .mp3 generation could care less about such incidentals, but we audiophiles and collectors expect minimal details.....and accuracy! **** for the music; * for the packaging.