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The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out

By Sacha O'Grady

Dave Brubeck emerged after the Second World War as a pianist whose eclectic style owed itself to several different schools of piano playing. Throughout the 1950's, Brubeck enjoyed as much commercial success as any jazz musician could have wished for, becoming one of the biggest acts in the business. Famous mostly for his experiments with rhythm, influenced equally as much by Bach as he was by swing, his compositions would betray sophisticated time signatures intertwined with classical references.

Dave Brubeck: The Inspired Moment of Unity

By Bob Kenselaar

[Standing tall with a flowing salt-and-pepper mane, Dave Brubeck had a broad smile and was quick to laugh when I met him in the fall of 1978 at publicist Peter Levinson's New York office for this interview. He was enjoying his tour with the New Brubeck Quartet, the group he formed with his sons. He reminisced about his earliest days in music and his duet recordings with Paul Desmond, and he proudly recalled some compliments he'd gotten over the years ...

Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out

By Chris May

Dave Brubeck QuartetTime OutColumbia1959 As the authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (Penguin, 1992-2008) observed, pianist Dave Brubeck's Time Out has become so familiar that “no one actually hears what's going on anymore." The album is one of two masterpieces made in 1959 sharing that fate. The other is trumpeter Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (Columbia). But Brubeck's album has suffered the most. Davis' studied cultivation ...

Brubeck: The Quintessence (1948-1959) ; Take Five; QSF Plays Brubeck; 1975: The Duets & Jazz at Oberlin

By Andrew Velez

Dave Brubeck/Paul DesmondThe Quintessence (1948-1959)Fremeaux & Associes.2009 Sachal Studios OrchestraTake FiveSachal Music2009 Quartet San FranciscoQSF Plays BrubeckViolinJazz2009 Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond1975: The DuetsA&M-Verve2009 Dave Brubeck QuartetJazz at Oberlin Fantasy/OJC-Concord2009 Hail, Brubeck! Most recently David ...

Take Two: Variations on Dave Brubeck

By Dr. Judith Schlesinger

The music of pianist Dave Brubeck has been cherished throughout the world since the mid 1950s. While he's written orchestral, choral and sacred work, his most familiar are jazz tunes like “Strange Meadowlark," “Blue Rondo A La Turk," “Three To Get Ready," “Unsquare Dance" and that mega-hit “Take Five," written by his band mate, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, and forever linked to Brubeck. This repertoire has been played and recorded a zillion times by admiring jazz musicians, and it's strong ...

Dave Brubeck: Time Out (50th Anniversary Legacy Edition)

By Graham L. Flanagan

The year 1959 could easily go down as the one of most important years in the history of recorded jazz. In addition to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (Columbia), it saw the release of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's groundbreaking LP Time Out. Columbia Records got the risky inclination to release the album's third track, the Paul Desmond-penned title song, as a single and it went on to become the first jazz single to sell one million copies. ...

Dave Brubeck: On the Radio: Live 1956-57 & Brubeck

By Paul C. Dowd

Dave Brubeck QuartetOn The Radio: Live 1956-57Acrobat2009 Liam Noble TrioBrubeckBasho2009 Dave Brubeck occupies a unique spot in jazz--a living legend that has enjoyed both commercial success and critical acclaim (albeit meandering) throughout his nearly six-decade career. Brubeck, along with longtime sparring partner alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, were the one-two punch behind a quartet that ...

Dave Brubeck: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-2007

By George Kanzler

One of the paradoxes of jazz is that the individual is highly valued, yet iconoclasts are often undervalued, either by critics or audiences. Pianist Dave Brubeck has had no trouble attracting fans over more than half a century, but critics have been less embracing, often saying he doesn't swing. Brubeck became wildly popular in the '50s, when his quartet with alto saxophonist Paul Desmond pioneered jazz concerts at colleges. Students then were familiar with classical music--music appreciation ...

Dave Brubeck: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-2007

By David Rickert

If there is any artist perfectly suited to jazz festivals, it's pianist Dave Brubeck. He gained notoriety through playing for eager tweed jacketed undergrads at college concert halls instead of for barflies at dingy clubs and recorded a few hit songs without losing his jazz cred. It makes sense, then, that Brubeck has performed several times at the Monterey Jazz Fesitval. Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-2007 captures him from several different years there, and with several different bands.

Dave Brubeck: Jazz Goes to College

By Samuel Chell

It's out again, and affordable. But shame on Sony/Columbia for ignoring this essential recording for twenty years, resulting in prohibitive collectors' prices. This was Brubeck-Desmond's greatest period, before the comparatively sterile, more formulaic studio albums, including Time Out (Columbia, 1959). And shame on those (including this writer) who ever dismissed this recording as too white, too fay, too square, too distant from the “authentic" jazz tradition. The music is squarely in the tradition--soulful, in the moment, unrepeatable. As ...

Freddy Cole and Dave Brubeck Quartets at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia

By Victor L. Schermer

Kimmel Center for the Performing ArtsVerizon HallPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaApril 16, 2008

It was a pleasure to attend and review this double bill at the Kimmel Center with two most honored and respected musicians and their quartets: Freddy Cole and Dave Brubeck. Both groups gave their all, producing some exceptional music.

FREDDY COLE QUARTET

Freddy Cole, the brother of Nat King Cole, is a great vocalist in his own right, having experienced early ...

Jazz Icons Series 2 Set: Wes, Mingus, Coltrane, Dexter, Duke, Brubeck and More.

By John Kelman

Various Artists Jazz Icons Series 2 Box Set Reelin' in the Years 2007

While the advent of the DVD has resulted in the unearthing of a virtual treasure trove of archival live video performances, many available for the first time in any format, the quality can often be hit-and-miss. Not so with the Jazz Icons series of DVDs, the first series hitting the streets in 2006. It's been written that ...