Customer Reviews

24 Classic Original Recordings

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This release is the best way to aquire the nearly impossible to find 10-inch records released in the late forties/early fifties. If you are a fan of Brubecks more cookin' works (as opposed to his more ballad oriented stuff), this is the place to start. Cal Tjader's drums and liberal use of bongos and vibes work well against Brubeck's piano. Much different from his later 50s and 60s stuff, and with lower fidelity due to the age of the recordings. Great stuff!!

This is the only example that I know of from the pre-Oberlin College days. My tape of the old LP [I think it was a 10"] was ruined about 20 years ago. If you treasure your Brubeck collection and already have his solo piano album, this should be next!

The sound quality shows the effect of transcribing from vinyl, but the music is golden.

David Brubeck remains one of the very last of the great jazz masters: a final link to the days of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus. His original Dave Brubeck Quartet (featuring Paul Desmond, Gene Wright and Joe Morello) was classic. But sometime before the famous quartet, was this Dave Brubeck Trio that features bassist Ron Crotty and percussionist Cal Tjader (who later went on to play with George Shearing and then explore the worlds of Latin Jazz and Exotica).

This trio is something rather unique. It's West-Coast jazz, with an influence from Arnold Schoenberg who pioneered atonality (Second School of Vienna) in classical music before the rise of Nazism in Europe and his subsequent resettlement in California where he influenced the likes of jazz musicians such as Cecil Taylor and Dave Brubeck.

Brubeck's trio takes such standards as "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "Laura" and puts them through an atonal filter that retains the integrity of the song and the feeling of jazz. It's innovative and cool.

I found while listening to this to these recordings (that were done by Fantasy Records) you
have a golden opportunity to hear a genius evolve. It's true, these recordings from 1949-1951 were not memorizing but rather music you hear at a quiet little bistro while sipping your espresso
with your friends chatting about current events with polite little applause at the end of the selection.
These recordings came at a time when Bebop was igniting the jazz world with strange and wonderful
sounds from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Theomodius Monk (Excuse the spelling)to name a few.
However, the music of Dave Brubeck was starting a new fire-the music of cool jazz. With mellow sounds instead of sounds that grab your attention with its angry outbursts; Brubeck (along with others that came as well) caress the listener with sounds that was not mad at the world but rather relax the listener and quietly fill in the background while sipping your coffee. The music of Bebop ignited the world with arson intent,demanding you to listen; but Brubeck has his own campfire that drew the listener cozy you up to the embers.

but if you need to ask for a rose, knowing the name helps. This album can be found on Allmusic as 'Distinctive Rhythm Instrumentals', not as titled here.

In particular, the Brubeck instrumental trio arrangements of:

Lullaby in Rhythm [Benny Goodman/Walter Hirsch/Edgar Sampson/Clarence Profit]

Laura [David Raksin]
(where I note Dave copies his own solo from the earlier Dave Brubeck Octet recording - In general, it's unusual for Dave to copy solos from his earlier recordings...)

Undecided [Charlie Shavers/Sydney Robin]

September Song [Music: Kurt Weill/Lyrics: Maxwell Anderson]

Sweet Georgia Brown [Music: Ben Bernie/Maceo Pinkard/Lyrics: Kenneth Casey]

'S Wonderful [Music: George Gershwin/Lyrics: Ira Gershwin]

I Didn't Know What Time It Was [Music: Richard Rodgers/Lyrics: Lorenz Hart]

Squeeze Me [Music: Duke Ellington/Lyrics: Lee Gaines]
(which Fantasy records incorrectly listed as being "Squeeze Me" (Thomas "Fats" Waller/Clarence Williams), but the piece is actually "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)" by Duke Ellington, but this still isn't corrected in the liner notes and credits of the Compact Disc re-issues)

Too Marvelous for Words [Music: Richard Rodgers/Lyrics: Lorenz Hart]

are quite enjoyable little gems.