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As the album cover says,  Time Outtakes is a set of "previously unreleased tracks from the original 1959 sessions" by the masterful Dave Brubeck Quartet. It consists of alternate versions from one of the most deservedly loved jazz albums of all time, the original Time Out .  Brubeck (1920 - 2012) would have turned 100 late last year and these long forgotten tracks were discovered by researchers writing a book in honor of the pianist's milestone birthday.  The band featured here included the leader, alto sax man Paul Desmond, Eugene Wright on bass and drummer Joe Morello. Some of these takes are quite different form the originals. The famous "Take Five" has a faster tempo, a different drum solo from Morello on which the band leaves him totally alone, and there is a less conventional sax solo from Desmond. Parts of "Blue Rondo A La Turk" are quite different in spots and while it may not be superior to the well know version found on the original LP it is...

Shortly after Dave Brubeck died in 2012 a tape of an impromptu concert he gave with Tony Bennett in 1962 for the Kennedy administration was discovered in the vaults at Sony. "That Old Black Magic" was the only song from the sessions that had been previously released but the whole concert became available the following year. Whoever found the mislabeled show should be given a medal. Bennett and Brubeck were asked to perform at the "White House Seminar American Jazz Concert" for college students who'd been serving as interns in Washington. The concert was held on August 28, 1962 and was scheduled for the Rose Garden but later moved to a theater near the Washington Monument because the large crowd could not be accommodated on the grounds of the President's residence. Both men were at the height of their popularity. Brubeck's fame was mostly due to Paul Desmond's "Take Five," a smash hit for the band several years earlier, and Bennett...

Jazz At Oberlin features Dave Brubeck on piano and Paul Desmond of "Take Five" fame on alto sax as well as bassist Ron Crotty and drummer Lloyd Davis. The four played the groundbreaking concert captured on this album at Oberlin College on March 2, 1953. At the time this performance was on the cutting edge of jazz with both Brubeck and Desmond playing their best. The leader's piano is both frantic and melodic and he proves the really great jazz musicians are always better live than they are on record. As for Desmond's work, I normally prefer the tenor sax due to its deeper and richer tone but his alto work here is perfect. The five song CD opens with a slow but slightly off-kilter version of "These Foolish Things Remind Me of You" followed by "Perdido," a very fast jam session that sounds just as contemporary today as it did in 1953. The group follows them up with reworkings of three more standards: "Stardust," "The Way You Look...

It's hard to categorize Chris Brubeck's Triple Play . They're mostly billed as a jazz band but they play almost as much acoustic, delta blues as they do jazz. Their eclectic repertoire includes some very old jazz standards, a little Robert Johnson and Fats Waller, and a few originals. For the uninitiated, the trio is Peter "Madcat" Ruth on harmonica, jaw harp, guitar, ukulele, percussion, and vocals, Joel Brown on acoustic guitar and vocals, and leader Brubeck on bass, trombone, and vocals. Brown is the son of 85 year old clarinetist Frank Brown, and Brubeck is the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck who, at the age of 90, can still play his butt off. For years Chris Brubeck was a member of his Dad's group but eventually he started his own band. His resume also includes a concerto for trombone that he wrote for the London Symphony Orchestra and he has also played with Celtic music star Eileen Ivers. There is a lot to like on Triple Play's new CD, L...

I've always liked jazz, but I'm far from an expert, which is why I seldom write about the genre sometimes known as "America's Classical Music." However, Dave Brubeck's Time Out , the first instrumental jazz album to sell one million copies, is celebrating it's fiftieth anniversary this year so it's time to take a look at one of the most famous jazz recordings of all time. Time Out is the ultimate classic by Brubeck's quartet and it's one of those rare records that have always been appreciated by both jazz aficionados and pop music fans alike. Time Out is famous for being one of the first jazz records to employ unusual time signatures. Until this album most jazz was in either 3/4 or 4/4 time. Brubeck dared to use 5/4 and even 9/8 time signatures while offering up some of the most melodic jazz ever put on vinyl. Brubeck's piano and Paul Desmond's saxophone received most of the attention even though the rhythm section of Eugene Wright...

When people think of 1967 in the world of music the discussion almost always starts and ends with The Summer of Love and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . However, the year wasn't all about San Francisco, wah-wah pedals, and psychedelic rock. The proof is that one of the most highly regarded bands in jazz history was still playing at its full strength even though it was nearing the end of its eleven year run. Drummer Joe Morello, bassist Eugene Wright, and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond were all still working together with their leader, pianist Dave Brubeck, for a series of concerts in Mexico City. The Dave Brubeck Quartet was quite eclectic. When a sweet and quiet passage almost lulled you to sleep Brubeck's piano playing would suddenly turn frenzied and then just as quickly he would return to more traditional territory. Desmond's sax work was never as intense as Brubeck's playing so he often was able to make the music more palatable for those listeners ...