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
6. Three To Get Ready

Disc 2:

1. Eleven Four
2. It's A Raggy Waltz
3. King For A Day
4. Castilian Drums
5. Blue Rondo A La Turk
6. Take Five

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23850 in Music
• Released on: 2001-04-10
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Live, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

Arguably the best Brubeck Qt recording.
This is the Brubeck Quartet album I listen to most often. Abounds with good solos from Brubeck and Desmond. Years ago I thought some Brubeck harmonies here to be too harsh; but now I find those harmonies beautiful - harshly beautiful, - and thrilling. I particularly like the Brubeck solo at the end of St. Louis Blues; the Muse pushed him to take chances, and his solo's dronelike quality seems dramatic, even apocalyptic. In "For All We know", Brubeck's solo has dense block-chords, and they usually disturb the animals in my house; but those harmonies make me feel something deep and bittersweet, no matter how many times I hear it. Bluntly: most of the Desmond solos are flat-out masterpieces, jewels of lyric simplicity. The Muse was on a roll, pouring inspiration into Desmond, with "For All..." and "Southern Scene" leading the way. The Desmond solo in "Southern Scene" is such a sublime melody that someone should put words to it; so we could then sing it to our children before they go to sleep. I could go on and on...

Sweet, delicious, jazz
I am not a complete jazz connoisseur, although I do enjoy the likes of Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, Eddie Harris, and Miles Davis. Given that caveat, in my opinion the last 4 tracks on the second CD are among the sweetest jazz sounds I've ever heard. King for a Day gives Eugene Wright a chance to really strut his stuff, which he does with panache. Castilian Drums gives Joe Morello the same opportunity. Simply amazing. This performance of Blue Rondo I find to be spectacular. About 10m in, towards the end of Dave's solo, there's a chord ascension that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. And this recording of Take Five, is, IMHO, the best of them all (and I've got a lot of them). The best track for me on the first CD is Bossa Nova USA. The rest of the songs are wonderful, this concert I think represents the quartet at their best. This is seriously great stuff, that you have to listen to with the volume cranked and completely immerse yourself.

Brubeck!
I listen to this one and, wow! Jazz at it's best. It never tires. Over 40 years old and still tops my list!