Customer Reviews

Vocal Encounters

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

 

 

This compilation is a nice collection of Brubeck and a number of vocalists- some of the cuts are off of the Summit Sessions LP, which has not been released on CD. Louis Armstrong on Summer Song is as good, IMHO, as he is singing What a Wonderful World. I miss some of the cuts from Summit Sessions that aren't here, but for the rarity of hearing Brubeck jam with vocalists, this is a great collection and a must for Brubeck fans and collectors.

Not that the music isn't fine, but one wonders why so much Carmen and others that are already on CD. There are five cuts from "Summit Sessions" which has never yet been released on CD, Tracks:

01,

02, minus Louis' Lonesome narrative,

07,

11, which was also cut on Take Five Live with Carmen McRae and The Essential Dave Brubeck

17, which was also cut on Brubeck & Rushing

Track 4 which is listed as previously unreleased was also released on LP and CD via Take Five Live with Carmen McRae in a longer version.

Track 15 "Autumn in our Town" was previoulsy unreleased in any format.

In short, I am disappointed that the producers felt it necessary to rehash a great number of done deals and neglect several vocals from Summit Sessions and three of four important early Carmen McRae vocals from Brubeck's 1961 released LP "Tonight Only":

Weep No More, which is already included in The Essential Dave Brubeck

Briar Bush, Paradiddl Joe and Strange Meadowlark.

Thus a 3 star rating.

Dave Brubeck is my favorite jazz artist. The collaborations on this record prove that the quartets style complemented other artists and styles. The recording quality is also top notch, something I always expect from Columbia Records, even for the 1950's. There is so much to enjoy on this record.