Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. St. Louis Blues
2. Bossa Nova U.S.A.
3. For All We Know
4. Pennies From Heaven
5. Southern Scene [Briar Bush]
6. Three to Get Ready

Disc 2:

1. Eleven Four
2. It's a Raggy Waltz
3. King for a Day
4. Castillian Drums
5. Blue Rondo a la Turk
6. Take Five

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6138 in Music
• Released on: 2001-04-10
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Live, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

At Last . . .
This is a great recording, and I've been impatiently waiting for the CD release. There's no point in detailing the highlights, because Dave's notes on the original LP say it all succinctly -- it was an "ordinary" date that caught fire -- and then burned the house down. The energy builds magically from a fine "St. Louis Blues" to breathtaking, definitive versions of "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "Take Five." (If you felt "Rondo" and "Five" were tentative in the original recordings, this CD set will satisfy you at last.) For those lucky enough to have seen Morello, Desmond, Wright and Brubeck play together, this will capture the memories well, and maybe go the memories one better. For those who wonder what it was like to see one of the great ensembles of jazz, this is a complete concert and a peak experience.

Degree'd
This is no doubt the most important, most exciting representation of the post-Take 5 quartet on record. Both Brubeck and Desmond are on fire, and the rhythm section of Gene Wright and Joe Morello insures the flames remain bright. And unlike the studio album, "Take 5," the odd time signatures by this time have become so second-nature to the musicians that extended, extemporaneous improvisation is the order of the night. Simply put, "At Carnegie Hall" recalls the earlier college concert dates but with the addition of a state-of-the-art rhythm section and the bold, virtuosic confidence that come with experience and success.

At the same time, the earlier recordings have their own strengths. Nowhere does the quartet sound more genuinely inspired than on "Jazz at Oberlin," "Jazz at the College of the Pacific," and "Jazz Goes to College"--performances that are characterized by in-the-moment creation and the sheer joy of discovery. Listen to Brubeck's heavy-handed bitonality and polyrhythmic thunder on "St. Louis Blues" from the Carnegie Hall date. It's in many respects dramatic and engaging but in a calculated, crowd-arousing manner that is not the case on the earlier, 1950's live recordings. Even though the other members of the rhythm section--usually Bob Bates and Joe Dodge--are clearly not marquee musicians, they're as empathetic and supportive a pair of team players as the two emerging stars could ask for.

Forget "Time Out" and go directly to "At Carnegie Hall." But on the way be sure to check out Oberlin, College of the Pacific, and those other academic venues so vital to Brubeck's and any jazz listener's education.

What a fortune to have this concert back on CD!!
This is by far the best concert the group ever gave and it is a pity it has taken so long to release it back on CD.

Right from the start the group hits it off with the old "St. Louis Blues" and from these first crucial moments in the concert everything went off like a Formula One race in the group. It is followed by a very jazzy Bossa Nova USA ( note the difference with the original sinle release!)and it goes on and on.

Brubecks multi-tonal approach combines magically with Desmonds understated palying. Gene Wright blends in fantastically on the bass and has some very impressive solo's and, of course, Joe Morello's solo on Castillian drums is made in heaven and one of a kind.

It seems that all worked for the Quartet that night and if you read Jazz anthologies this is the concert referred to. I don't think the band ever reached this level of playing again. Like the other reviewers; thank you for releasing this because the LP version started to be worn out more than a little bit.