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Dave Brubeck appreciation post.

the3rdstreamthe3rdstream 1,980 Posts
edited June 2005 in Strut Central
The dude is doing it for me this summer. Kind of Blue for the suburbanite who is scared of all those black dudes

  Comments

  • gruntgravelgruntgravel 559 Posts
    The dude is doing it for me this summer.




    Kind of Blue for the suburbanite who is scared of all those black dudes

    Timeout has some of the sickest time changes recorded in Jazz.
  • fhillysubtle1fhillysubtle1 355 Posts
    umm ....
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    umm ....

    It's easy to dismiss Brubeck. Nothing raer, he didn't blaze new trails, and he is not firey.

    But he made a slew of nice records. They are everywhere, and they are all nice to put on and listen to.

    Don't be fooled. All that nice music is top notch jazz played by top notch players.

    I want to make a mix of jazz top ten hits:
    Take 5
    Mercy Mercy Mercy
    Grazing In The Grass
    So What
    Sidewinder
    Soul Makossa
    Memphis Underground
    The Worm


    Truth be told I am not a deep jazz guy. Those are some of my favorite jazz tunes.
  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    The dude is doing it for me this summer.




    Kind of Blue for the suburbanite who is scared of all those black dudes

    Very Appreciated
  • fhillysubtle1fhillysubtle1 355 Posts
    He did kinda blaze the whole time signature trail, but this is like the Gorillaz of the 60's to me. I'd rather play Giant Steps than this.
  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    i had a friend who was really into listing to take 5 at 45 rpm's. I heard it so many times like that now it sounds funny at regular speed.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    He did kinda blaze the whole time signature trail, but this is like the Gorillaz of the 60's to me. I'd rather play Giant Steps than this.

    Giant Steps = (kidding)
    Don't sleep on Brubeck just 'coz he has been overplayed since then, that Gorrilaz comparison is unfair to the tons of great music Brubeck has made for give or take half a century.
  • DJ_NevilleCDJ_NevilleC 1,922 Posts
    "Take Five" was the very first jazz song (unless you count "Sweet Georgia Brown") that I ever liked as a kid. It was sometime in the late 60's/early 70's and he was on the Mike Douglas Show or something. I still love it especially the vocal version with Carmen McRae.

  • fhillysubtle1fhillysubtle1 355 Posts
    I think Take 5 was a lot of peoples first favorite jazz song, so i can't hate.
  • lucerolucero 425 Posts
    got some good memories of a busker in a sicilian restaurant playing 'take 5' ..

    take it away dave ..
  • johmbolayajohmbolaya 4,472 Posts
    I always knew of Brubeck, but his interviews in Ken Burns' Jazz[/b] made me want to hear more. I have most of his Atlantic work, a small handful of the Columbia albums, but if someone has never heard his music before, they shouldn't talk about his lack of merit because the man can play, and his arrangements are excellent. He was pulling in college crowds for over 30 years, and probably still does. I have nothing bad to say about him.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    Also, don't sleep on that Octet stuff on Fantasy, nice album.
  • BeatChemistBeatChemist 1,465 Posts
    I've got a live recording and they play it at almost double the speed. Desmond's leads just float overtop...

    i had a friend who was really into listing to take 5 at 45 rpm's. I heard it so many times like that now it sounds funny at regular speed.
  • funky16cornersfunky16corners 7,175 Posts
    Also, don't sleep on that Octet stuff on Fantasy, nice album.

    There's a CD re-ish of this. Cal Tjader on drums!
  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    I always knew of Brubeck, but his interviews in Ken Burns' Jazz[/b] made me want to hear more. I have most of his Atlantic work, a small handful of the Columbia albums, but if someone has never heard his music before, they shouldn't talk about his lack of merit because the man can play, and his arrangements are excellent. He was pulling in college crowds for over 30 years, and probably still does. I have nothing bad to say about him.

    Dave Brubeck gets passed on by many folks for being jazz light based mostly on his skin color. He is no pretender or hack, dude was respected by musicians period. I am aware that he was held in some contempt by Black musicians for a time because of promoters who would capitalise on a white jazz musician who could draw, where innovators like Monk literally couldn't get work outside of the East Coast or Europe, all doors were open and better pay were a given for groups like Brubeck's and Tjader's. But when you get down to the music, Brubeck had chops and knew and acknowledged where the music was from.
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    he might not be the swinginest piano player, but he has a fiercely original, modern, progressive style, has always maintained the utmost artistic integrity and thus deserves crazy respect. Interestingly, i think early on he was more conventional, but a serious hand injury ~during his army days forced him to develop his more economical, 'blocky' style, and to focus more on harmonic and rhythmic craziness instead of spinning off the typical Bud Powell-like bebop lines. (his extremely modern approach to jazz harmony is also greatly influenced by his early studies with Milhaud).

    all this said, i still pass over his records all the time and only have like 1 or 2. if i had a nickel for every Take 5 i've played...i could probably go without playing or hearing that tune ever again, but its still fun and a crowd-pleaser, just played it on a request over the weekend...
  • prof_rockwellprof_rockwell 2,867 Posts
    He did kinda blaze the whole time signature trail, but this is like the Gorillaz of the 60's to me. I'd rather play Giant Steps than this.

    Yeah, I remember hearing that Time Out is a concept album of sorts, all the songs are in crazy non 4/4 time-signatures
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