Customer Reviews

Time Changes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There IS a single reason to own this CD, and it is "Elementals". While the shorter works that precede it are enjoyable enough, some sound almost too "middle of the road" after all these years (although the airy, lilting, sometimes raspy performance of Paul Desmond never fails to entrance me).

"Elementals" boosts this CD to Five Stars due to its groundbreaking fusion of jazz and symphonic composition. Since first hearing this piece more than a quarter-century ago, I've stuck with my impression that Brubeck has fashioned a wonderfully mesmerizing history of humankind through music. The opening, almost primordial in nature, segues into a Biblical-sounding passage artfully played by 'King David', then slides into a musical evocation of the Middle Ages, whereupon both the tempo and counterpoint between the Quartet and the Eastman orchestra hasten. Moving into the just-completed century, there are strains of swing, beebop and what I'll call missile-age musical pyrotechnics. It all comes to one crashing denouement, leaving you to wonder, 'What's next for Man'?

If you gave me the choice of listening to "Take Five", "Blue Rondo" or "Elementals" just one more time, I'd hesitate ... then choose "Elementals". It's that powerful and intriguing.

Yeah, yeah, Elementals is superb... both versions are included on this reissue. But Iberia and Unisphere are utterly fantastic songs, and World's Fair is an amazing experiment with 13 beats per measure -- it WORKS! The percussion on Cable Car is progressive and entertaining, too. It's so rare I find an album (cd) which I have to listen to three times before I can take it out of the player. Best to buy this in the boxed set "For All Time"; it is a solid bargain.

I still own the original vinyl version of this album and must have played it 200 times over the last 4 decades. While there are lots of pops and scratches, the thing still sounds damn good. The CD version is first rate and has all the dynamics and nuances that make this my favorite Brubeck album. I own it for one reason, "Elementals." If memory service me, the Eastman Conservatory asked Brubeck to write and perform a piece with their orchestra in celebration. What ensues is a truely inspired performance by both the orhestra and quartet.

As a bonus, the CD contains a shorter version of the piece with just the quartet that precedes the fully orchestrated recording. You don't have to be a composition major to appreciate the structure that Brubeck created in this exercise in theme development and variation. I still hear things for the first time after all these years.

This is another one of Dave Brubeck's time experiments of the 1960's.

Dave brubeck could never fit under any category of jazz ; he's a whole

category on his own .This album is really very good ; it swings at times

and it's very melodic at others showing Brubeck's classical influence specially in the last song '' elementals'' which sees the quartet supported by a full orchestra that swings so hard.

My favourite track is the opening one '' IBERIA'' it belongs to the dave brubeck series of masterpieces.I would recommend this album to any brubeck fan and i would suggest also to try '' BRANDENBURG GATE REVISITED'' or '' BOSSA NOVA USA'' ; '' TIME IN '' and '' THE DIALOGUES FOR JAZZ COMBO FROM THE BERNSTEIN PLAYS BRUBECK '' or the very rare ''JAZZ IMPRESSIONS OF THE USA ''

This is a good variety of musical pieces that helps to round out my collection of Dave Brubeck's compositions and orchestrations. It gives me a better perspective on Dave's breadth of experience in the jazz world. A very good album.

I bought the vinyl of this album when I was about 15. The first album I ever bought was Time Out which was probably Dave's best selling album because of the wonderous "Take Five". That was about 1960, my second purchase was Elvis Pressly's Gold Records Vol.1. With the Time Changes album the first side was very good typical D B stuff, but side 2 shines as a brilliant performance between the quartet and a full symphony orchestra, boncing back and forth between the two as well as between a swing tempo and the subdued orchestral passages. This music is timeless and sounds as good today as it did in 1965. I am thankful to Amazon for assembling this network of dealers to make these albums that are out of manufacture available at reasonable price

You can really hear residual elements of the quartet's trip to asia seeping into these compositions, particularly the brilliant "Elemental," which sounds like Gershwin got on the wrong plane and landed in Kyoto instead of Paris. This is such a surprising record. I wonder what ol' Milhaud thought of it when Brubeck sent him a copy...

I purchased this Brubeck CD for $32 and put it in the car CD player. It didn't play and it would not eject. Now I have to have the CD player removed and repaired.

Thanks alot!