Nightshift

Dave Brubeck | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 28, 1995)
• Original Release Date: March 23, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003D4D
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,503 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Cool Jazz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nightshift: Outstanding Live Jazz, August 10, 1999

By 

"gnsaliba" (the U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightshift (Audio CD)

I have over 100 jazz albums and this one is hands down my favorite. Even after listening to it about twenty times, certain spots still literally give me goosebumps and move me emotionally. "Nightshift" is a stunning, well-wrought performance, where the listener can discover something new with each sitting. What makes "Nightshift" so fantastic? It's the combination of a stellar musical score with the ambience of a live recording. Add to this top-flight musicians who are not only technically perfect, but emotionally uninhibited, and one has quite an album. Beyond these elements, however, it's the arrangement of the tunes that pushes the album into the "masterpiece" category. The songs are performed in a crescendo fashion. By this I mean they begin by relaxing the listener with gentle sounds before expanding with deep musical intensity. In this way, the relaxed listener is "awed" by the increase in sound and complexity. One experiences this phenomenon not only within each song, but it is apparent if the album is viewed as a whole: the first track is mellow compared to the heart-pumping finale, "River Stay 'Way From My Door." That song, by the way, includes the kind of mind-boggling vigor that makes then 74 year-old Dave Brubeck seem 25. If all you own is an old Brubeck "Time Out" LP, take some time out and listen to "Nightshift." It's different and very memorable. -- G.N. Saliba

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Essential Brubeck CD, January 27, 2001

By 

D. Mataconis (Bristow, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nightshift (Audio CD)

For what you'll pay for this CD, its worth it just to hear the opening number, "Yesterdays", which has to rank as one of the best live recordings by any Brubeck-led ensemble. Bobby Mitello may not be Paul Desmond, but he swings his way through this number with such bravado that you'll want to hit the repeat button just to hear this number again before moving on to track # 2.

The rest of the CD is similarly spectacular. The only downside, and the main reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5, is Chris Brubeck's bass trombone which seems wildly out of place on most the numbers he participates in, except "Ain't Misbehavin'", where the gritty sound of the bass trombone is entirely appropriate for the mood of the song. On the other numbers, however, I found it somewhat of a distraction. That's just a matter of personal taste, however, and should not dissaude you from treating yourself to yet another example of the reason why I consider Dave Brubeck one of the greatest jazz musicians of the last 50 years.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another not so exciting Dave Brubeck album, August 15, 2004

By 

David F. Donahue "Old BariSax-playing Geezer" (Buffalo, Wyoming, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nightshift (Audio CD)

As an orginal Dave Brubeck fan and one who met him and the quartet several times, I have to admit I'm disappointed at this album. The CD is a very good jazz album; it's just not a very good Dave Brubeck one. Even though it's live from the Blue Note in 1993, Dave sounds rather lackluster. Bobby Militello is in no way shape or form any comparison to Paul Desmond; in fact, I find too much of a "fish horn" quality to his playing. Bill Smith does an admirable job on clarinet and the rest of the crew are good. There's good jazz on this CD, but I think I'll donate the CD to the local library.