Customer Reviews

Nightshift

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

 

 

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

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.

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.

Ever been asked the question, "If you were stranded on a desert island, what CD would you want?" Well, here is the answer. Not only is "Nightshift" a collection of songs from a group of jazz masters at the top of their game, but it is the rawest, most visceral example of what an aesthetic/emotional wallop music can pack. This CD effortless scoops you out of your mundane existance and slam dunks you into the diner from Hopper's "Nighthawks," or any masterful film-noir cinescape--it's that evocative.

After listening to the flawless technique on a track like "Knives" (my favorite Brubeck tune, btw) it is difficult to turn on the radio without regarding the steady stream of pre-fab, TV-dinner music groups as nothing more than background noise. Brubeck et al are artists. And even in his 70s, Dave teaches all us young bucks a thing or two about how the best make it look easy.

Are you the kind of people that love to feel as you are there? This CD is for you. Not only is pure sound but pure atmosphere. You hear all from cough to glasses. Everything is there, is all around you. So, Maybe all that is real. Maybe you are there.