The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Featuring Paul Desmond, In Concert [Live]

Paul Desmond, Dave Brubeck | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Fantasy
• ASIN: B000000XH3
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #354,481 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost two for the price of one, June 19, 2004

By 

MikeG (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Featuring Paul Desmond, In Concert (Audio CD)

This selection is from two of the best Brubeck Quartet albums of the early 1950s - which for me means two of the best of Brubeck's many albums. Both were live concert recordings made at university colleges: the first four tracks are from the `Jazz at Oberlin' album, the remaining five from `Jazz at Pacific College'. They come from that formative phase when the quartet was building an audience for its music, and attracting more attention to jazz in general, among student audiences.

On "Perdido" and "The Way You Look Tonight" you can hear the excitement their inventive and utterly committed playing generated in the enthusiastic Oberlin audience. Desmond in particular plays like a man possessed and his solo on the latter track is one of his sharpest and most brilliantly sustained on record. He is more typically smooth and self-contained - but still flowing with ideas - on the ballads, "These Foolish Things" and "Stardust", also from the Oberlin concert. On the first of these, Brubeck springs one of his dramatic surprises, moving from a quietly lyrical opening to his solo into a more intense and anguished (or angry?) section before subsiding into the quiet mood he began with. It's one of his more unusual performances, contrasting with the open-hearted romanticism of his approach to "Stardust".

Those who are not put off by that kind of romanticism from a `jazz' group will recognise "For All We Know" - from the Pacific College concert - as a small masterpiece of inspired melodic invention. I've commented in more detail on this and other tracks in my Amazon review of the Pacific College album, so I'll say no more about them here, except that "All the Things You Are" is another Brubeck Quartet masterpiece featuring one of the pianist's very best solos.

Five stars for the music. However, in order to compile this generous selection from two classic albums, the producers have left out two of the original tracks - "How High the Moon" from Oberlin and "Laura" from Pacific College. The first is another exciting up-tempo performance (after a deceptively calm opening chorus); the second is a ballad feature for Brubeck, discreetly accompanied by bass and drums, and notable for a kind of impressionistic mood and style reminiscent of some of Debussy's piano pieces. Both tracks in their contrasting ways are worth having. So the prospective buyer has the kind of choice which `compilation' CDs face you with: whether to forego `completeness' for an apparent bargain or to buy the two separate albums. You can probably guess what my recommendation would be.

3.0 out of 5 stars Remembering Paul Desmond, January 24, 2011

By 

Harvey M. Rosenwasser (Key Biscayne, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Featuring Paul Desmond, In Concert (Audio CD)

In the jazz idiom, Paul Desmond remains the epitome of the lyrical improvising musicians. This album of his playing with the Dave Brubeck group is a solid representation of that era. There is, however, one piece that will remain a classic: I Remember You. It alone is worth the price of the album.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OKAY FOR OLD STYLE JAZZ TUNES, January 1, 2010

By 

Brian J. Strasser - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Featuring Paul Desmond, In Concert (Audio CD)

I WOULD RATE THIS AN AVERAGE CD SOME OF THE SOUND QUALITIES ARE A BIT OFF BUT OVERALL A NICE ADDITION TO YOUR BRUBECK/DESMOND COLLECTION