|
DAVE BRUBECK So What's New (Telarc Jazz) The irony of this title is that Brubeck is back writing in his classic 1959 Time Out mould. Even the 1998 Quartet is reminiscent of this period. Bobby Miltello, Jack Six and Randy Jones all share the qualities that made Desmond, Wright and Morello such an integral part of the Brubeck Quartet sound. Listening to 'Fourth Of July' you can hear aspects of 'Three To Get Ready', 'My Favourite Things' and 'Take Five'. The track 'Marian McPartland', (a Tribute to Marian) originally debuted on Marian's own show 'Piano Jazz'. One of the most striking features of 'Brotherly Love' is Randy's drumming. 'I'm Still In Love With A Girl Named Oli' reminds me of a late hot summer night during the sixties, listening to Desmond. The sombre 'Chorale' features Bobby on flute. 'Waltzing' bares all the trademarks of a typical sixties Brubeck tune with its tricky time signatures. This is such a pleasure to listen to, as you can hear that the musicians obviously enjoyed recording and performing So What's New.Gazz Time Further Out (Columbia Legacy/Sony) Time Out featured 'Blue Rondo A La Turk', 'Three To Get Ready', Kathy's Waltz', and Paul Desmond's legendary 'Take Five'. Time Further Out was Time Out's impressive sequel, that features the classics 'It's A Raggy Waltz' and Upsquare Dance'. My favourites are the Chopin-meets-Satie influenced 'Bluette', 'Maori Blues', that is almost a walking pace meets skipping, and is so funky. 'Far More Blues' is among just a few tracks that feature Paul Desmond on Time Further Out, and is a beautiful melancholy number. 'Bru's Boogie Woogie' is exactly as discribed and Morello and Wright really lock it together to keep it tight. This track really cooks and Brubecks fingers never fall off.Apart from a couple of bonus tracks Time Further Out struct me as more of a trio affair than a quartet. Time Further Out was finally released on CD by Sony in 1996, and they had certainly taken their time putting it out on CD. I've been waiting since 1983. Apart from my criticism, it was well worth the wait. One more thing: Joan Miro did the fantastic cover painting to Time Further Out Gazz Click on album image to see larger album cover 
|
