The Dave Brubeck Quartet ”Plays Music From West Side Story & Wonderful Town And More”

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

”Plays Music From West Side Story & Wonderful Town And More”
( LP Columbia Jazz Masterpieces Records, 1962 )
Catalog # CJ 40455

Tracklisting:
1. Maria Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 3:15
2. I Feel Pretty Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 5:07
3. Somewhere Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 4:13
4. A Quiet Girl Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 2:20
5. Tonight Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 3:46
6. What Is This Thing Called Love Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 6:14
7. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 5:16
8. Night And Day Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 4:53
9. My Romance Dave Brubeck;The Dave Brubeck Quartet 6:47

Personnel:
Michael Berniker Record Preparation
Dave Brubeck Quartet Group
Dave Brubeck Piano
Steve Byram Design
Paul Desmond Sax (Alto)
Tim Geelan Engineer
Warren Linn Illustrations
Teo Macero Producer
Joe Morello Drums
Ambrose Reynolds Liner Notes
Eugene Wright Bass

Review:
For reasons that aren’t clear, this is one of the more often overlooked albums in Dave Brubeck’s Columbia Records catalog of the early ’60s. It’s certainly less well known than Stan Kenton’s very different 1961 album of music from West Side Story, and also less unified, as it also reaches out to the score for Wonderful Town and back to 1930s Broadway. And none of that means that it isn’t a lot of fun and well worth hearing, with “Maria” done as a swinging, uptempo ballad, while “Tonight” becomes a jumping-off point for all concerned into a jazz excursion across several decades’ worth of tunes. By contrast, “What Is This Thing Called Love?” is done in a slow, pensively lyrical, lilting fashion. Paul Desmond’s playing shines every bit as much as Brubeck’s, and the whole record — including the Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hart material — swings in some unexpected directions that still delight four-plus decades later.
By Bruce Eder (AMG)

Review2:
The Deeper I go into the Brubeck catalog, the happier I get. If you have a copy of Time Out, and want to go a little further, this is a great place to start.
The joyful, brilliant rendition of “Maria” justifies twice the cost of this record all by itself. It is not all that often that a timeless classic is actually improved upon. This material might as well have been written for Paul Desmond.
Almost 50 years after its release, this music remains sophisticated, edgy and elegant. Highly Recommended.
By Bruce85 (Amazon)

Courtesy of Soultrane