Customer Reviews

Live at the Berlin Philharmonie

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

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love jazz recorded in a studio, and my collection is full of that kind of stuff. But jazz is primarily a live art, and its in the interaction between musician and audience that it achieves its best. That is no more apparent anywhere than in this recording featuring Dave Brubeck and Gerry Mulligan, two of the best (and, based on the amount of time Ken Burns spent on them in his recent documentary, most under-rated) of America's post-swing jazz musicians.

There's much that could be said about all of performances on this CD, but the best thing I can do is just tell you to listen to them. Some of the best treats come from the tracks that were left off of the original vinyl release, such as "Blessed Are The Poor", "Out of Nowhere", and "Out of The Way of The People". Mulligan's powerful baritone sax and Brubeck's distinctive piano fit together perfectly, and the two musicians, encouraged by the auidence no doubt, bring out things in each others' performance that I don't think we'd hear from a studio recording.

At the time I wrote this review, this recording ranked at about 46,000 on Amazon's sales rank. Obviously, too few people are paying attention to this gem. Do yourself a favor, buy it now.

I totally agree with the one other person who has reviewed this recording (consisting of two substantial CDs!) that it has been badly underrated recently, which probably shows how important (and annoying) a part fashion plays in the appreciation of jazz. The fact is, though, that Brubeck and Mulligan formed an outstanding combination, as the two leading musicians of this quartet - certainly not inferior to the combination of Brubeck and Desmond. The hard, driving swing on many of the tracks is truly to be heard to be believed, and contagious. The inventiveness of both of the key musicians was never at a more inspired pitch; indeed, one doubts that it often, if ever, reached this level. The foursome produced an excellent combination, with an outstanding bass-player and fascinatingly versatile drummer. No wonder that the Berlin audience wanted to hear MORE, MORE, MORE! I play the CDs regularly, in a whole variety of moods, and invariably get a real "kick" out of them. It especially is music to lift one's spirits when other events tend to overwhelm one with depresssion, as in the current days of world tension. This music, I feel, is therapeutic, with all its spectacular harmonies, melodic twists, yet wonderful lucidity and bounce. Unhesitatingly recommended, not least for its great entertainment value. And all four musicians are constantly working within the fundamentals of JAZZ, that great American form of music. - Joost Daalder

In the past, Brubeck's piano solos had always tended towards the percussive and polyrhythmic in nature but he managed to keep things in check with alternate laid-back melody and groove. Here he just gets wacky and annoying. On some of the tunes, it's Mulligan that gets annoying since he seems to be playing off-key for the hell of it, as if it's some of kind of modern, hip statement to do that. Mulligan and Brubeck never synergize the way Brubeck and Desmond did. Whereas the melodic breeziness of Desmond always balanced Brubeck's rough edges out, here you have the rough baritone of Mulligan on top of the rough percussive piano of Brubeck. 'Cool Jazz' this certainly isn't anymore though Mulligan tries hard to get laid-back on some of the tunes here, sensing the direction it needs to go before Brubeck gets wacky over-banging them keys again.

The bass and drum team of Six and Dawson can't even hold a candle to Wright and Morello despite being obvious virtuosos. It's never about being a virtuoso, it's only about the soul and the energy behind the chops. To make matters worse, the recorded bass sound is mixed so low you can barely hear it even when you turn the bass all the way up.

All these faults add up to a lot of annoyance and keep me from enjoying this album. On the plus side, the song selection is great and varied. The same song selection played by the classic Brubeck Quartet with Desmond would have created another masterpiece. Here it's more like a mediocre outing led by 2 legends of jazz.

The final verdict: either one of the lesser known classic Brubeck Quartet Live releases "Buried Treasures: Live in Mexico City" or "Bravo!" is far superior to this. Buy this album only if you're a Brubeck completist like myself and only after you've bought all the Desmond/Brubeck discs.

The duo of Brubek and Mulligan play so sympathetically together and both are at such an incredible peak of performance on this disc that you can not help but wish that there were even more songs to add to this incredible disc. I have never heard Brubek's playing sound so on fire and Mulligan whose tone is always so gentle and haunting blends in and mixes with Brubek seamlessly. Tracks like 'The Duke' and 'New Orleans' are stand outs and who would have thought that there could be a great version of 'Take Five' without Desmond's smooth sound but here it sounds like it was written for Mulligan. The only possible quibble would be when part of the rhythm section takes the lead (a not common practice in this concert) there is a slight loss of momentum as they can not keep up with the two headliners. Still if you don't have this one in your collection and you like jazz you will not be sorry if you pick this one up. That is for certain.

If I were allowed to use one example only of just how great the "jazz" genre of music is this recording would be the one I would use.
Just a truly magnificent performance by Dave Brubecks Quartet..a great audience and a great quality recording...from Alan Dawsons masterful drumming ..to Jack Six and his marvellous bass...Mulligan and Brubeck at their best. A truly great performance and wonderfully preserved.
Can`t say enough good things about it.

The cd set is a musical calligraphy. The performance sounds sometimes slightly 'rough and rush' but players' masterwork makes up for listener's worry. Quietness and dynamic interplay made me energised.

JAPAN IMPORT!! COMES IN LP LIKE SLIPCASE
The Dave Brubeck Quartet / Dave Brubeck In Berlin
Year: 1964
Track Title
1. St. Louis Blues
2. Koto Song
3. Take The "A" Train
4. Take Five