Celebrating Dave Brubeck

In celebration of his life and music I thought it would be nice to revisit this column again. Dave your music will live with us always.

Dave Brubeck (piano; b. 1920 - 2012)

The Definitive Dave Brubeck (Concord Records; 2010)
Legacy Of A Legend (Columbia/Legacy Recordings; 2010)

For many, Dave Brubeck may only be known for his iconic and landmark album, Time Out--definitely one of the most important jazz albums in history. But there is so much more to Dave Brubeck that you need to hear, see and know. Two new compilations and a documentary by Clint Eastwood chronicle this living legend as he celebrates his 90th birthday. Trust me he doesn't look 90 or even play like he's 90.

This former veterinarian student turned jazz legend began penning material as a young college student. A style that is both swinging, upbeat, hard bop and classically proficient has captivated audiences since his first recordings in 1948. His is one of the few jazz musicians to appear on the cover Time magazine (a huge deal back in the day). His "everyman" clean-crisp performing was a major hit among college students and has continued to appeal to masses of all ages today. He is not to be missed if he comes to your town.

There are outstanding individual albums that you should pick up if you really want to get a good vibe on Dave Brubeck. But if you are interested in the basics and in today's economy this is the norm, I would highly recommend the two recently released compilations. Together they both cover the significant moments of Dave Brubeck's career. And from the economic standpoint it won't set up back a lot of money either.

The Definitive Dave Brubeck (Concord Recordings) cover two separate periods ('42 - '53) and ('82 - '04). Yes, there's a big gap there but I'll get to it in a moment. The material on The Definitive Dave Brubeck documents the "artists as a young man", mainly for the Fantasy Records label, now owned by Concord Music. Brubeck is exploring mostly standards in the first two decades but it was the manner in which he and his group performed them that made his group a successful tour outfit.

In their hands standards like "This Can't Be Love," "That Old Black Magic," "The Way You Look Tonight" and "All The Things You Are" were transformed into majestic beauty while other jazz musicians were playing it safe or working on deconstructing meters. This isn't to say Brubeck accessible or palatable. He was making this standards technically brilliant in a way that left listeners awe struck.

Leap forward a few decades and Brubeck is now the elder statesmen of jazz piano. His recordings during this period span two labels (Concord and Telarc). The last three decades has seen Brubeck composing symphonic material as well as his own material mixed in with delightful standard repertoire (of which now many of his material has become e.g. "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "Take Five").

This era finds Brubeck in continued fine form if not better. New renditions of material such as "Koto Song," "Forty Days" and "Waltzing" and the albums during this period show a composer and performer with sheer confidence and aggressively pushing his themes forward and challenging his musicians to follow. Right now Brubeck is probably at his best. At 90!

The aptly titled Legacy Of A Legend (Columbia/Legacy Recordings) spans the most well known period of Brubeck career 1954 - 1970. This is the time period Brubeck writing and performances exploded. For jazz fans it is the era of arguably the greatest quartet, Paul Desmond (sax), Eugene Wright (bass) and Joe Morello (drums) that produced the landmark Time Out album.

While tracks from that album are highlight on Legacy Of A Legend, it is the other material that I would ask you pay more attention to. "Take A Chance On Love," " "Evenin'" with the legendary vocalist Jimmy Rushing, "Out Of Nowhere" with Gerry Mulligan and countless other tracks in this collection solidify this excellence as a musician and composer. There is also a great live version of "Mr. Broadway" from the legendary concert album Buried Treasures recorded in Mexico during the Classic Quartet's final tour.

The tracks on Legacy Of A Legend were personally chosen by Brubeck. It makes for interesting listening to see how the artist perceives his work. But this isn't an experiment is self-indulgence. This is moment for you the listener to hear an artist in prime and prolific form. A great overview indeed.

The documentary, Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way airs in the US and possibly the rest of the world starting December 6th, Brubeck's birthday, and should not be missed. Dave Brubeck is the quintessential jazz artists that if you are going to own only a few jazz records--you must own something by Brubeck. While I've said in here and in the past, the individual albums are a must--but if you have to you can't go wrong with both of these collection. They are great primers and offer a huge window into one of the greatest legends of jazz. Happy Birthday Dave!

The Library: The New/Old Experience

The New York Public Library

With the weekend upon us I thought I would mention a great new experience which really is the old experience from our childhood.

With the rise of the Internet and downloading (legal and illegal) and the demise of the record store, it's become really hard for music lovers to find and enjoy music. Now I'm not a fan of illegally downloading music but I know a lot of people who are. So I wanted to talk about my new discovery from some of those records that people new to jazz might still be a little hesitant to buy or even download. My new experience is really and old experience--The Public Library. Yeah, I know...who wouldn't thought that!?!

So I've been going to the public library that's near my home for about 4 months now. I have to say its been great. Now you would be surprised by what the library actually as far as music is concerned. Now the library won't have the Woody Shaw boxed set but they will have Miles Davis Kind Of Blue and Dave Brubeck Time Out and a number of other big name classic jazz albums. You may also be surprised because you may even find brand new releases if you lucky.

One afternoon I stopped in at the library just to see what music they had and I stumbled upon some nice jazz albums (most of which I already owned) but it got me thinking. This is the perfect opportunity for those of you who are starting a jazz collection or you just want learn some more about jazz without having to purchase or download them. Plus it gives you an opportunity to support your community by joining the library and finding books for yourself as well the family and some music.

I personally found the entire Led Zeppelin catalog at the library and uploaded it to my iPod. Now I already owned two Zeppelin albums and a compilation. I've always wanted to pick up the boxed set that came out a few years ago but just didn't have the money. This turned out to be a great way to satisfy my need and I'm very happy for it.Now believe me, the selection is extremely limited but you can stumble into a lot suprising stuff.
Blossom Dearie, whom I will write about in a few more entries, is one of the best and under-rated female vocalist ever. I found a couple of her CDs that are pretty hard to find and that made my day.

The whole experience of rediscovering the library has been incredibly eye opening. I highly suggest that everyone wherever you are across the world, if you have a library please, please, please try to check it out and ask for where the music department is. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Giant Steps: Why It's Important

John Coltrane (sax; b. 1926 - d. 1967)

Giant Steps (Atlantic; 1960)

This month celebrates the 50th anniversary of John Coltrane's Giant Steps (Atlantic) album. Giant Steps was recorded only a few weeks after Coltrane had recorded Kind Of Blue with Miles Davis. Coltrane once mentioned in an interview that he wanted to play "a more lyrical and beautiful sound" and while he obviously and modestly didn't acknowledge it at the time, Giant Steps was the album where he found the lyrical voice for which he was searching.

The album features unbelievable quartet works with Tommy Flanagan, Wynton Kelly, Cedar Walton (piano), Jimmy Cobb, Lex Humphries, Art Taylor (Drums) and Paul Chambers (bass) running through seven numbers that would all become classics and benchmarks for future jazz generations to come. The sessions are also historic for the inclusion of the same line up that recorded Miles' Kind Of Blue (Kelly, Cobb and Chambers) on the lovely "Naima". The title track is a fast paced firecracker of a number that sets the tone for the whole affair. The album is a bold statement of intent that Coltrane had indeed arrived.

While his material for Prestige and Blue Note, Soultrane and Blue Train, respectfully are definite markers of his early dominance and potential, Giant Steps to me is the signpost that solidifies his status as the most important saxophone player of his generation. On the potent journey that is Giant Steps, Coltrane rips through harmonic scales at a dazzling pace as heard throughout the short but surefire "Countdown", and then moves lovingly into the wonderful piece "Spiral." Nearing the end of Giant Steps, Coltrane finally brings the proceedings to a calmer tone with the absolutely beautiful "Niama," named after his first wife, and is highlighted by the magnificent playing of the truly underrated Wynton Kelly on piano. The closing number, "Mr. P.C." is named after the only constant in the two quartet set up, bassist, Paul Chambers. It is a hard hitting and perfectly fitting way to end the session.

Giant Steps was the album that saw John Coltrane finally let loose and express the emotion, structure and complexity he had developed over the previous 15 years in his associations with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Red Garland. Of all the John Coltrane albums, Giant Steps arguably might be the one that universally says everything you need to know about the legendary musician. Along with Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue, Charles Mingus' Ah Um, Dave Brubecks' Time Out, Thelonious Monks' Brilliant Corners, John Coltane's Giant Steps is a must-have for any music fan. It is the document of a legend as well as a great jazz history lesson.

Below is a stellar version of "Naima" with one of Coltrane's later quartets featuring McCoy Tyner (piano), Gimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums).

Armando Trovaioli — Rapporto Fuller Base Stoccolma

American Ken Clark made several Italian spy flicks over the course of the '60s, and Sergio Greco's Rapporto Fuller Base Stoccolma (aka Fuller Report, Base Stockholm, '69) was the last of them. Armando Trovaioli supplies the swinging beat jazz score for the mission. (Beat Records also released soundtrack for another Clark spy flick known in the states as Tiffany Memorandum from '67 on a triple feature Riz Ortolani compilation.)

Trovaioli's score for Rapporto Fuller is among his most swinging. The main theme, "The Touch of a Kiss," sung passionately by Lara Saint Paul, has the lush lounge sound in spades. Strutting brass, swelling strings and strong back beat push the emotion front and center.

Most notably, Trovaioli supplies action jazz cues that mimic the style of Dave Brubeck's famous cool jazz standard "Take Five," but add hot brass, smoldering woodwinds and stinging organ stabs.

In addition, there are relatively abstract cues ("Just a Bullet, Just a Fist") that build tension on dissonant strings and percussion runs as well as dreamy passages ("Tears and Spies") featuring piano, harp and floating female vocalisms. The night club-type jazz numbers (such as "The Stockholm Baths") sound like something from the early '60s, certainly not '69, but are still groovy in their own laid-back, sophisticated manner.

Twenty-four tracks strong, Rapporto Fuller is a intriguing from beginning to end, and one of the best soundtracks in the Italian spy game.

The CD insert folds out into a mini-reproduction of the eye-catching original movie poster.

This review was previously published at the author's soundtrack review site www.ScoreBaby.com.