The Dave Brubeck Quartet: On the Radio — Live 1956-57

Acrobat Music
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 3.5.09
Buy CD: On the Radio: Live 1956-57

This release from Acrobat Music's premier collection, which showcases famous jazz artists of the past, features never-released radio transcripts of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. The recordings were made during broadcasts from New York City's Basin Street Jazz Club in 1956, and Chicago's Blue Note in 1957.

Brubeck was a relatively late arrival to the jazz scene. He managed to graduate from college without learning to read music; then, after several years in Europe with an Armed Services band in the early 1940s, he remained overseas to study with French classical composer Darius Milhaud.

This training, combined with the West Coast “cool jazz” sound he'd heard during his college years, resulted in the unique style that made him famous. His first recordings, on Atlantic Records, were with an octet that featured Cal Tjader and Ron Crotty; Brubeck and this duo also recorded two trio albums in 1949 and '50.

Brubeck also met alto saxman Paul Desmond while both were in the service. After the war concluded, they were together in a trio Desmond headed; the latter didn't become a regular with Brubeck's group until later.

Brubeck, Desmond, bassist Norman Bates and drummer Joe Dodge made up a quartet for several years, and that cadre is featured on the Basin Street Jazz Club '56 broadcast; the only personnel change for the '57 Blue Note club date was Joe Morello, who replaced Dodge on drums.

Dodge was an excellent — and steady — percussionist, but Morello was far more innovative. The stylistic change that occurred with his arrival was significant, and is evident in the tracks presented on this album. That said, both groups were unique; their cover of “Stardust” (for example) was unlike anything done by any other band.

Desmond set the primary tone for the quartet. His soft, clean, almost vibratoless style made that band; no other alto player sounded like him. This release includes most of the tunes that appeared in the many albums this quartet recorded over the years, but — big “but” — because they never played 'em the same way twice, this listening experience is well worth your time.

The album's only weakness is the audio quality, but considering the fact that these are radio transcripts, that's to be expected. The announcer's introductions and comments bring back memories of jazz's importance during that time period; only the commercials have been eliminated.

Acrobat is to be congratulated — and supported — for this series.

Dave Brubeck: 50 Years of Dave Brubeck

Monterey Jazz Festival Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 1.8.09
Buy CD: 50 Years of Dave Brubeck

This album, featuring pianist Dave Brubeck, is one of many being released by Monterey Jazz Festival Records, to celebrate that West Coast tradition's 50th anniversary.

Brubeck's group was featured at the first Monterey Jazz Festival concert in 1958; in fact, he also performed in Monterey before the initial concert. Jimmy Lyons, founder of the festival, had a meeting scheduled with the city council, to persuade them to sponsor the event; he arranged to have Brubeck's quartet audition. (Many council members weren't familiar with jazz.)

The rest is history, and Brubeck played at numerous Monterey Jazz Fests during the next 50 years.

The 10 tracks on this release draw from the initial 1958 event and continue through the '07 concert. Six versions of Brubeck's band perform. The initial quartet featured Paul Desmond on alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello on drums. In 1962, Gerry Mulligan's baritone sax replaced Desmond's alto, and Jack Six and Alan Dawson were the bassist and drummer.

By 1985, the group had grown to a quintet, with clarinetist Bill Smith, flutist Bobby Militello, drummer Randy Jones and Dave's son Chris on bass. The quartet reappeared in '02; Bobby Militello switched to alto sax, and Christian McBride was the bassist. The only change made for the '06 and '07 concerts was bassist Michael Moore.

But no matter who played, the results were stellar.

I've always thought Desmond was a primo alto saxist; his tone was mellow — he used very little vibrato — and his phrasing was exquisite. He also composed “Take 5,” Brubeck's hallmark tune, which was done in 5/4 time.

The years that featured Mulligan on baritone sax were some of Brubeck's finest; one of those tracks (“Goodbye Old Friend”) was written by Brubeck after Mulligan's death. The old tunes “Margie” and “Sleep,” both seldom performed, are album highlights here.

This release's only shortcoming is a recording flaw; one must crank up the volume to hear the piano solos in the '58 concert.

That aside, this is a wonderful album. Brubeck was — and, thank goodness, remains — way ahead of his time.

Holiday Jazz 2006: Yule be swingin'

By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.7.06


[Web master’s note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang — the eldest, youngest and only son of this site’s jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for roughly 11 years, with lengthy columns that just keep growing.]

Researching this annual round-up just became a bit harder.

Whatever the chain’s other vices and virtues, Tower Records always displayed an impressive selection of seasonal music, and — at Sacramento’s Watt Avenue outlet — even divided the releases by genre. Flipping through discs to find new holiday jazz releases was an annual treat, and one I greatly anticipated each November.

But now, with Tower gone, my only local option is Borders. I’ve nothing but praise for their variety of books, but the music section has needed serious help for quite some time; it appears as if nobody even bothers to alphabetize the discs in many sections, let alone divide by sub-category. Have you ever tried to find a soundtrack in that mess?

Fortunately, the still-cherished “search the bins” experience remains a possibility, albeit with a bit more planning. Berkeley’s Amoeba Music sets up a dynamite display of holiday music in late November, and those folks also stock an impressive supply of used CDs and — wait for it — even LPs.

I call it paradise.

Even a visit to Amoeba, however, didn’t reveal all that much in the way of 2006 holiday jazz releases, which makes me wonder if the last decade’s “soft jazz”-inspired deluge finally might be receding. One year does not a trend make, but I am surprised by the relative scarcity of new material.

Thank goodness for the Internet, and for below-the-radar Web outlets such as cdbaby and ejazzlines.com. I’ve long shouted the joys of cdbaby, but ejazzlines is new to me this year ... and they even have a special section wholly devoted to Christmas jazz.

Thanks to such resources, I found quite a few recent and even older CDs to round out this yearly celebration of holiday jazz. As usual, an initially reasonable article therefore blossomed into a monster of redwood status, and I’ll be mightily impressed by anybody who keeps reading to the bitter end.

But the journey, as the say, is reason enough. I had my usual good time with all this music, and I hope some of it winds up in your home, as well.

Those who’ve grown tired of the same old-same old in seasonal jazz will want to run, not walk, to find a copy of the Classical Jazz Quartet’s Christmas (Kind of Blue 10014). This positively sublime album features some of today’s finest jazz stars: Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Stefon Harris on vibes and marimba, and Lewis Nash on drums.

And you won’t find a trace of Rudolph, Frosty or the Chipmunks.

As befits the ensemble’s name, these guys have compiled an album of classically hued tracks: two stand-alone pieces — the “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah, and Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” — and an ambitious, six-movement arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

The overall tone may be on the occasionally solemn side, but the jazz chops are magnificent. Harris struts his stuff with a dynamic interpretation of the melody line from Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”; he yields to Barron’s equally vigorous piano work, and then the entire quartet goes to town.

Bach comes next: Carter gently plucks the opening melody, which expands to include both piano and vibes until kicking into high gear after another minute or so. Many Christmas jazz albums serve nicely as background music, but you can’t help but pay close attention to these four guys; musicians who complement each other so well demand a listener’s full concentration.

As for the nearly 40-minute “Nutcracker,” all I can say is wow. The second movement — the “March” — is particularly delightful.

I’d love to have been in the studio while this album was recorded, because these guys clearly had a great time. And they just might help sway that Bach, Beethoven and Mozart-oriented friend of yours, who hasn’t yet found a reason to like jazz.