DAVE BRUBECK: MILESTONES OF A JAZZ LEGEND (10 CDS) DOCUMENT

“The American pianist and composer Dave Brubeck (1920-2012) was one of the most successful jazz musicians of the 20th century. With his album “Time Out” and its single “Take Five”, composed by Paul Desmond, he scored one of the biggest hits in the history of this music.

Initially, Brubeck wanted to study veterinary medicine, but his professor urged him to follow his true passion and make the move over to the music department. During his military service he founded one of the first multiracial ensembles and in 1944 also met saxophonist Paul Desmond. After studying with Darius Milhaud he turned back to jazz and founded first an octet, including Desmond and Cal Tjader, a trio, again with Tjader, and a quartet: the trio + Desmond. Brubeck was injured in a surf accident in 1951, and afterwards fought with severe pains when playing the piano and subsequently changed his style towards the characteristic block chords. The quartet with Desmond played a successful long-term engagement at the Jazz Club Black Hawk in San Francisco and Brubeck’s recordings began to sell in larger quantities.

Success allowed Brubeck to book his quartet into the auditoriums of universities that had not previously presented Jazz, and to reach a large white middle-class audience. With his appearance and recording at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958, which he dedicated entirely to his role-model Duke Ellington, he also convinced the elite of New York’s music critics.

This compilation combines the best recordings from the crucial first decade of Brubeck’s career. The great live recordings at college and festival appearances, the series with odd rhythmic meters that started with “Time Out,” his first solo album, the recordings with musical impressions from his worldwide concert tours, and the totally underrated “The Real Ambassadors “, featuring Louis Armstrong, Carmen McRae and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross with a fantastic libretto by Brubeck’s wife Iola.

CD 1

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK TRIO – BRUBECK / TJADER
1. September Song (K. Weill) 3.30
2. Sweet Georgia Brown (Burnie, Pinkard) 2.46
3. Spring Is Here (Rodgers, Hart) 2.32
4. ‘S Wonderful (G. Gershwin) 2.44
5. Perfidia (A. Domingues) 2.22
6. Avalon (I. Berlin) 2.10
7. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was 2.37
(R. Rodgers)
8. Always (I. Berlin) 2.51
9. How High the Moon (M. Lewis) 3.07
10. Squeeze Me (Williams, Waller) 3.48
11. Heart and Soul (F. Loesser) 2.22
12. Too Marvelous for Words 3.11
(Mercer, Whiting)

Dave Brubeck (p)
Cal Tjader (vibes, drs, bongos)
Ron Crotty (b)
Recorded between June and October 1950

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – BRUBECK TIME
13. Audrey (Brubeck, P. Desmond) 3.35
14. Jeepers Creepers (Warren, Mercer) 4.58
15. Pennies from Heaven (Johnston, Burke) 6.29
16. Why Do I Love You? 5.42
(Hammerstein II, Kern)
17. Stompin’ for Mili (Brubeck, P. Desmond) 5.28
18. Keepin’ out of Mischief Now 5.07
(Razaf, Waller)
19. A Fine Romance (Fields, Kern) 3.50
20. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? 5.18
(Harburg, Gorney)

Dave Brubeck (p) Paul Desmond (as)
Bob Bates (b) Joe Dodge (drs)
Recorded in New York City on October 12 to 14
and November 10, 1954
Total Time 74.29

CD 2

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – JAZZ: RED HOT AND COOL
1. Lover (Hart, Rodgers) 5.08
2. Little Girl Blue (Hart, Rodgers) 10.40
3. Fare Thee Well, Annabelle 7.23
(Wrubel, Dixon)
4. Sometimes I’m Happy 5.23
(Caesar, Youmans)
5. The Duke (Dave Brubeck) 2.46
6. Indiana (MacDonald, Hanley) 5.55
7. Love Walked In (I. & G. Gershwin) 8.48

Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Bob Bates (b)
Joe Dodge (drs)
Recorded at the Basin Street Night Club
in New York on October 12, 1954 and July 23, 1955
Total Time 46.05

CD 3

■ DAVE BRUBECK – BRUBECK ON BRUBECK
1. Swing Bells (Dave Brubeck) 3.40
2. Walkin’ Line (Brubeck) 2.47
3. In Your Own Sweet Way (Brubeck) 5.01
4. Two-Part Contention (Brubeck) 5.39
5. Weep No More (Brubeck) 3.59
6. The Duke (Brubeck) 2.55
7. When I Was Young (Brubeck) 3.19
8. One Moment Worth Years (Brubeck) 4.56
9. The Waltz (Brubeck) 3.50
Dave Brubeck (solo piano)
Recorded in Oakland at Dave Brubeck’s house
on April 18 and 19, 1956

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – JAZZ IMPRESSIONS OF THE U.S.A.
10. Ode to a Cowboy (Brubeck) 5.06
11. Summer Song (Brubeck) 6.11
12. Yonder for Two (Brubeck) 5.05
13. History of a Boy Scout (Brubeck) 4.38
14. Plain Song (Brubeck) 4.09
15. Curtain Time (Brubeck) 4.51
16. Sounds of the Loop (Brubeck) 7.34
17. Home at Last (Brubeck) 3.54
Dave Brubeck (p) Paul Desmond (as)
Norman Bates (b) Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in 1957
Total Time 77.35

CD 4

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – JAZZ GOES TO JUNIOR COLLEGE
1. Bru’s Blues (Brubeck) 11.45
2. These Foolish Things 10.11
(Remind Me of You)
(Link, Marvell, Strachey)
3. I’m Afraid the Masquerade Is Over 6.05
(Wrubel, Magidson)
4. One Moment Worth Years (Brubeck) 9.03
5. St. Louis Blues (W. C. Handy) 8.33
Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Bob Bates (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in concert at Fullerton Junior College
on May 1 and Long Beach Junior College
on May 2, 1957
Total Time 45.40

CD 5

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – DAVE DIGS DISNEY
1. Alice in Wonderland (Hilliard, Fain) 9.31
2. Give a Little Whistle 7.38
(Harline, N. Washington)
3. Heigh-Ho (Churchill, Morey) 4.00
4. When You Wish Upon a Star 4.55
(Harline, N. Washington)
5. Some Day My Prince Will Come 8.22
(Morey, N. Washington)
6. One Song (Churchill, Morey) 5.05
Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Norman Bates (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded on June 29 and 30 and August 8, 1957
n THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
– JAZZ IMPRESSIONS OF EURASIA
7. Nomad (Brubeck) 7.22
8. Brandenburg Gate (Brubeck) 6.56
9. The Golden Horn (Brubeck) 5.02
10. Thank You (Dziekuje) (Brubeck) 3.36
11. Marble Arch (Brubeck) 7.03
12. Calcutta Blues (Brubeck) 9.57

Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Joe Benjamin (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in New York City on July 28, 30
and August 23, 1958
Total Time 79.29

CD 6

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – NEWPORT 1958
1. Things Ain’t What They Used to Be 7.03
(M. Ellington, Persons)
2. Jump for Joy (D. Ellington) 5.21
3. Perdido (Tizol) 12.48
4. Liberian Suite – Dance No. 3 6.31
(D. Ellington)
5. The Duke (Brubeck) 6.27
6. Flamingo (Anderson, Grouya) 6.27
7. C Jam Blues (D. Ellington) 4.54

Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Joe Benjamin (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded at Newport Jazz Festival on July 3, 1958
(1, 2, 3 & 7)
Recorded in New York City on July 28, 1958
(4, 5 & 6)
Total Time 49.32

CD 7

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – TIME OUT
1. Blue Rondo a La Turk (Brubeck) 6.47
2. Strange Meadow Lark (Brubeck) 7.25
3. Take Five (Paul Desmond) 5.27
4. Three to Get Ready (Brubeck) 5.25
5. Kathy’s Waltz (Brubeck) 4.51
6. Everybody’s Jumpin’ (Brubeck) 4.24
7. Pick Up Sticks (Brubeck) 4.17

Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Gene Wright (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded on June 29 and 30 and August 8, 1957

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – GONE WITH THE WIND
8. Swanee River (S. Foster) 5.59
9. The Lonesome Road 7.44
(G. Austin, N. Shilkret)
10. Georgia on My Mind 6.43
(H. Carmichael, S. Gorrell)
11. Camptown Races (S. Foster) 2.02
12. Camptown Races (S. Foster) 2.12
13. Short’nin’ Bread 2.33
(James Whitcomb Riley)
14. Basin Street Blues (S. Williams) 4.36
15. Ol’ Man River 2.32
(O. Hammerstein II, J. Kern)
16. Gone With the Wind 6.27
(A. Wrubel, H. Magidson)

Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Gene Wright (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in New York City on April 22 and 23, 1959
Total Time 79.27

CD 8

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
FEAT. JIMMY RUSHING
– BRUBECK & RUSHING
1. There’ll Be Some Changes Made 2.12
(Higgins, Overstreet)
2. My Melancholy Baby 4.02
(Burnett, Norton, Maybelle, Watson)
3. Blues in the Dark (Basie, Rushing) 4.41
4. I Never Knew 2.32
(I Could Love Anyone Like I’m Loving You)
(Egan, Marsh, Pitts)
5. Ain’t Misbehavin’ 3.25
(Razaf, Waller, Brooks)
6. Evenin’ (Parish, White) 4.15
7. All By Myself (I. Berlin) 2.35
8. River, Stay ‘Way from My Door 4.27
(Woods, Dixon)
9. You Can Depend on Me 3.34
(Carpenter, Hines, Dunlap)
10. Am I Blue? (Clarke, Akst) 2.55
Dave Brubeck (p) Jimmy Rushing (voc)
Paul Desmond (as) Gene Wright (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in New York City between January 29 and August 4, 1960

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
– SOUTHERN SCENE
11. Oh, Susanna (Stephen Foster) 2.44
12. When It’s Sleepy Time Down South 5.57
(Clarence Muse, Leon René, Otis René)
13. Little Rock Getaway (Joe Sullivan) 3.24
14. Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair 2.28
(S. Foster, arr. Brubeck)
15. Deep in the Heart of Texas 3.21
(Don Swander)
16. At the Darktown Strutters’ Ball 1.42
(Shelton Brooks)
17. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen 5.58
(Trad., arr. Brubeck)
18. Happy Times (Gene Wright) 2.41
19. Darling Nellie Gray (Stephen Foster) 5.20
20. Southern Scene (Brubeck) 5.43
Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Gene Wright (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in New York City in 1960
Total Time 73.58

CD 9

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
– TIME FURTHER OUT
1. It’s a Raggy Waltz (Brubeck) 5.15
2. Bluette (Brubeck) 5.24
3. Charles Matthew Hallelujah (Brubeck) 2.53
4. Far More Blue (Brubeck) 4.40
5. Far More Drums (Brubeck) 4.01
6. Maori Blues (Brubeck) 3.56
7. Unsquare Dance (Brubeck) 2.03
8. Bru’s Boogie Woogie (Brubeck) 2.30
9. Blue Shadows in the Street (Brubeck) 6.37
Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Gene Wright (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in New York City on May 3 (track 1)
May 12 (9) May 25 (2 and 3) June 2 (4 and 8), 1961

■ THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET – COUNTDOWN – TIME IN OUTER SPACE
10. Countdown (Brubeck) 2.25
11. Eleven Four (Paul Desmond) 2.54
12. Why Phillis Waltz (Eugene Wright) 2.18
13. Someday My Prince Will Come 6.21
(Larry Morey)
14. Castilian Blues (Brubeck) 2.33
15. Castilian Drums (Brubeck) 5.20
16. Fast Life (Brubeck) 3.00
17. Waltz Limp (Brubeck) 4.17
18. Three’s a Crowd (Brubeck) 2.44
19. Danse Duet (Brubeck) 3.47
20. Back to Earth (Brubeck) 3.21
Dave Brubeck (p)
Paul Desmond (as)
Gene Wright (b)
Joe Morello (drs)
Recorded in New York City between May 3, 1961
and February 12, 1962
Total Time 76.20

CD 10

■ LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS BAND, DAVE BRUBECK, LAMBERT, HENDRICKS AND ROSS, CARMEN McRAE – THE REAL AMBASSADORS
1. Everybody’s Comin’ 1.51
2. Cultural Exhange 4.43
3. Good Reviews 2.10
4. Remember Who You Are 2.34
5. My One Bad Habit 2.42
(Brubeck, Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald)
6. Summer Song 3.19
7. King for a Day 3.42
8. Blow Satchmo 0.48
9. The Real Ambassador 3.12
10. In the Lurch 2.33
11. One Moment Worth Years 4.22
12. They Say I Look Like God 5.30
13. Since Love Had Its Way 2.35
14. I Didn’t Know Until You Told Me 3.02
15. Swing Bells; Blow Satchmo; Finale 6.03

Music by Dave Brubeck, Libretto by Iola Brubeck
Dave Brubeck (p)
Louis Armstrong (voc: 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 14, 15)
(tp: 2 to 4, 7, 10, 12)
Carmen McRae (voc: 3, 5, 10, 11)
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (tracks: 1, 2, 9, 12, 15)
Trummy Young (tb) Joe Darensbourg (cl)
Billy Kyle (p: 2, 4, 6, 7, 13)
Gene Wright, Irving Manning (b)
Danny Barcelona (drs: 2, 4, 7, 13)
Joe Morello (tracks: 1 to 6, 8 to 15)
Recorded in New York on July 2,
September 12, 13, and 19, 1961
Total Time 49.07