Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dave Brubeck
Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dave Brubeck
ASIN: B000050HVO
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Dave Brubeck is unlikely ever to rank among the great improvisers or composers of jazz, but throughout his career he has been a tremendous popularizer, managing to present otherwise challenging musical ideas--modernist harmonies, classical structures, and complex time signatures--in forms palatable to a large audience. In the 1950s and '60s, his quartet with alto saxophonist Paul Desmond attained levels of popularity virtually unknown to other modern jazz musicians. It was the kind of success that resists analysis, but it undoubtedly involved the contrast presented by Brubeck and Desmond, the pianist openly touching on the pensive, the boisterous, and the bombastic, the saxophonist a self-effacing master of a coolly detached, liquid lyricism. The contrast is apparent on early collaborative compositions like "Le Souk" and "Audrey" from 1954, when the group was at its most harmonically daring, and it grows even more marked on a later standard like "I Get a Kick Out of You." The group's greatest hits are also here--Desmond's "Take Five" and Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk"--as well as Brubeck's prettiest songs, "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "Strange Meadow Lark." Louis Armstrong joins Brubeck and the vocal group Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross for "The Real Ambassador," a 1961 novelty song that distinguishes touring jazz musicians from the usual diplomatic corps. --Stuart Broomer
Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dave Brubeck,Dave Brubeck,Sony,Cool,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,West Coast Jazz
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Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  Cool Jazz
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ASIN: B000050HVO Release Date: 2000-11-07 |
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Amazon.com
Dave Brubeck is unlikely ever to rank among the great improvisers or composers of jazz, but throughout his career he has been a tremendous popularizer, managing to present otherwise challenging musical ideas--modernist harmonies, classical structures, and complex time signatures--in forms palatable to a large audience. In the 1950s and '60s, his quartet with alto saxophonist Paul Desmond attained levels of popularity virtually unknown to other modern jazz musicians. It was the kind of success that resists analysis, but it undoubtedly involved the contrast presented by Brubeck and Desmond, the pianist openly touching on the pensive, the boisterous, and the bombastic, the saxophonist a self-effacing master of a coolly detached, liquid lyricism. The contrast is apparent on early collaborative compositions like "Le Souk" and "Audrey" from 1954, when the group was at its most harmonically daring, and it grows even more marked on a later standard like "I Get a Kick Out of You." The group's greatest hits are also here--Desmond's "Take Five" and Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk"--as well as Brubeck's prettiest songs, "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "Strange Meadow Lark." Louis Armstrong joins Brubeck and the vocal group Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross for "The Real Ambassador," a 1961 novelty song that distinguishes touring jazz musicians from the usual diplomatic corps. --Stuart BroomerCustomer Reviews:
Terrific album.......2001-08-15
There's more to Dave Brubeck than TAKE FIVE..........2001-02-01
Although some would probably disagree, I would recommend this CD over any others for those who want one Brubeck album for their collection, due to it being a wide-ranging overview of his career. Of course, this one has the original version of TAKE FIVE and BLUE RONDO A LA TURK (from TIME OUT). Also included are Dave's own versions of self-penned songs associated with Miles Davis (THE DUKE, IN YOUR OWN SWEET WAY), a remarkable 1991 piano/clarinet duet of the standard STAR DUST, a sly protest song of sorts (THE REAL AMBASSADOR with Lambert, Hendricks, Ross...and Louis Armstrong!), and a number of examples of Brubeck's classic quartet. Brubeck's and reedman Paul Desmond's solos are excellent throughout.
The frustrations of some fans regarding which artists were chosen for/omitted from this "Ken Burns Jazz" CD series are understandable. However, I attribute this less to Burns himself than to record label politics, and perhaps the controversial views of some of those who assisted Burns in compiling the video series' narrative. All twenty-two artists who were included in these single-CD compilations are worthy representatives of the art. Yet certainly the number of artists included in the series could have been at least doubled with no loss in overall quality! Ultimately, we have to accept that even if arguably some "better" artists than Brubeck were omitted, Dave was nonetheless good enough to be included (at least by the evidence presented on this CD).
That's 5 stars averaged with one........2000-11-22
Don't take the star-rating above as a reflection on the music or selection: Brubeck & his star altoist Paul Desmond should be heard, & this is a useful CD. But I am extremely disappointed that the history purveyed by Burns's jazz project should be so misleadingly slanted.
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