Customer Reviews

Brubeck & Rushing (Reis)

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

 

 

Jimmy Rushing(former Count Basie vocalist) started singing in the late 20's and recorded with the great count Basie Orchestra as early as 1930. He had plenty of experience by the 50's, when he recorded this session with Dave Brubecks's very popular group featuring georgious sax playig of Paul Desmond, with Rushing's warm raspy, yet smooth and ageless baritone. The results are much better then one would expect, in fact this then LP, now CD isa classic, and ranks as one of Rushing's few re-issues. Rushing has a timeless voice like billie Holday, or Lee Wiley, it never goes out of style or sounds dated, and jazz like brubeck's is always hip and classy. A highly enjoyable jazz session. Recommended

As everyone has already said - the powerful swing of Jimmy Rushing and the gentle and ellegant moods of Dave Brubeck 4 don't seem like a match made in heaven, but somehow it works.
It was Jimmy's idea to do this album and I strongly feel that Desmond's subtle sax (for me the greatest value of Brubeck's quartet) would somehow complement his robust vocals. And it does.

To be honest, Brubeck is far from getting to my list of favourite piano players (Ellington, Monk, Tatum, Peterson, Basie, Wilson...); he probably never recorded something that would excite me like Jess Stacy's famous "Sing sing sing" solo on Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall concert, but nevertheless, at this record he somehow pulls it of without compromising his own musical persona too much.

In the end, I conclude that I don't really know why this works (although bass and drums seem subtle and versatile enough to help) but I enjoy this album imensely. Five stars, there's no doubt in my mind.

What a great album. The singing of Rushing and the melodic background to support the singing is truly genious. What a pleasure to listen to. It is Jazz at it's finest.

Never thought this pairing could bring it off. I was pleasently amazed! A true example of people having fun, making music and all of the listeners benefit. It's a shame that more fans of both aren't aware of this album. I chased it down from a car comercial! Shame on Columbia!

As others have pointed out, Jimmy Rushing and the Dave Brubeck Quartet don't initially seem like natural partners. Apparently Brubeck himself felt that same way prior to recording this album! But in spite of that, it works pretty well. The differing styles do jar occasionally it has to be said and more often they simply don't quite work. That said, some of it works well ("Evenin'" especially is worth a look) and at times Rushing and Desmond really seem to click.

It's clear that the band had a lot of fun on this album. They didn't QUITE make magic though. Worth a look if you are a fan of either the Brubeck Quartet or of Rushing but I wouldn't say it could be classed as an essential addition to a collection of either's works. Both did better work than this during their careers. That said, they set high standards to live up to. It's never anything other than pleasant to listen to, but it doesn't set the world on fire either.

I picked this cd up from my library on a whim, and I'm so glad I did. I don't have an extensive Jazz music background, so I didn't go into it with any preconceived ideas of what to expect, which judging by other reviews was a good thing. I honestly wish they made more then just the one album together. The vocals go with the music perfectly to me. It's a great change up to just listening to instrumental jazz forever. Rushing's voice is so unique that it adds a sense of nostalgia to the music as well. It's one of the few cds that I can listen to from beginning to end and not skip a single track.

Although I never realized Dave Brubeck did an album with Jimmy Rushing, once I heard it, I knew I had to have it. I got a copy for my father also, who thinks the world of Brubeck and has seen him in concert from the 1950's thru today. To hear the quartet backing Rushing is really easy on the ears. If you love Brubeck, you will love this!

I took a chance on this CD because I like Brubeck and love Rushing! It really is better than I'd hoped. As the editorial reviewer notes, this is hardly what most fans of these two would consider a natural pairing. Jimmy Rushing was one of the most naturally swinging vocalists the jazz/blues world has ever known. While I've always enjoyed Brubeck (esp. Take 5) he's no Basie (Rushing was singer w/ the Basie Band for a long time; check out the few recordings of those two you might be able to find). Finally, "Changes" has been used in a recent T.J. Maxx t.v. commercial, so you may have heard part of this CD & not even known it!

An overall enjoyable collaboration between a great blues/jazz singer and the cool Brubeck quartet. This was somewhat of an odd pairing, but the results are "nice".

This turns out sounding more of a Jimmy Rushing album though than a Dave Brubeck album though.

Overall it's nice, but nothing too terribly new or exciting though.