Dave Brubeck Music

The 1981 edition of the Dave Brubeck Quartet performs a nicely sequenced set of seven standards, highlighted by a "Paper Moon", creating a relaxed yet wistful mood. Pianist Dave Brubeck and tenor saxist Jerry Bergonzi take strong solos throughout. Bassist Chris Brubeck gets in a nice melodic bass solo in on the opener, "Music, Maestro, Please!". Chris breaks out his bass trombone for a solo on the title track, throwing in a cute "When You Wish Upon a Star" quote before wrapping up the track with a return to the primary melody. Drummer Randy Jones is solid in support throughout, creating subtle rhythmic interest. If you're a fan, you know what to expect from Dave, lots of block chords, though he steps out with fast single note runs in "Long Ago (And Far Away)", and takes a sensitive solo turn on "St. Louis Blues" to close out the set. Overall, another very solid entry into the maestro's lengthy discography.

The originals, "Elegy," "Don't Forget Me," "I Love Vienna," and Crescent City Stomp," are all excellent. "Elegy" is appropriately elegiac; "Don't Forget Me," very wistful, with an excellent bass solo by Michael Moore (proving he is among the very best acoustic bassists on the scene). "I Love Vienna," a clever waltz, bounces along cheerfully (I'd love to hear Jacky Terrasson get his hands on this one). And "Crescent City Stomp," for me the high-point of the disc, with its very cool tom-tom opening, with Bobby Militello coming in on a very funky alto sax, then the leader playing the clever and engaging tune on piano, followed by Militello's best solo and some wicked drumming by Randy Jones--everything's just cooking. Their rendition of certainly one of the most famous jazz tunes of all time, of course made famous by a former iteration of the Brubeck band--Paul Desmond's "Take Five"--is also worthy of note. I especially like Bobby Militello's slightly off-kilter solo--he really grew on me as the disc advanced--and Randy Jones takes a brilliant drum solo.

But there's a huge problem for me with the standards. Dave Brubeck has always been a hugely mannered player. His trademark playing behind the beat, over-reliance on triplets, and extreme precision come off sounding almost robotic on "Love for Sale" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street." These numbers, as well as the other standards, just seem to lack life. He really needs to put himself in high-wire musical settings (as on the originals) so that he frees himself from these static and highly unsatisfactory mannerisms.

When you compare the standards with the originals, there's such a huge difference of sensibility as to make one think one is listening to two different bands, one a brilliant chance-taking modern jazz ensemble, the other a stodgy, stuck-in-the-fifties revival outfit. So, 5 + stars for the band's wonderful performance on the original compositions, and, at best, 2+ stars for the standards.

I like coffee and I like jazz, so the idea of live jazz at Starbucks sounds excellent to me. And I feel that way without being overly influenced by commercialism. Or any "ism" for that matter.

That being said, this is the second "live at Starbucks" recording (following Ray Brown's fabulous "java outing") and I like it.

Dave Brubeck's soloing style here might seem a bit "restricted" (or robotic as the previous reviewer said) in that he uses a lot of block chords. But I actually like that. I find it quite pleasing to the ear. He keeps things fairly simple. Bam! Those are the notes I want. I feel it makes quite a statement.

Also, there's a lot of variation here from poppy (Sunny side of the street) to seriously funky (Crescent City Stomp) to standards (Slow boat to China) to the original and almost classical sounding tune Elegy.

All players seem to feel right at home and the atmosphere is relaxed and enjoyable throughout.

Nope. It's not gonna be a "classic", this recording. But it's an interesting and enjoyable hour or so in jazz history.

This is a fine late 50's Dave Brubeck solo piano session recorded at the pianist's home, creating a cozy and intimate sound. The up-tempo vamps are exciting: short and sweet! The ballads are quite lovely, especially "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and "I See Your Face Before Me." Some interesting harmonic experiments are explored elegantly with the original "In Search of a Theme". Overall, while nothing here will "rock your world," this is a pleasant diversion for Brubeck devotees and jazz piano fans alike. (and the cover is very cool!)