For the last few weeks, everyone and their mother has been abuzz with excitement about the total eclipse, billed as the Great American Eclipse. To commemorate the event, I thought I'd spotlight a jazz tune all about lunar happenings. This galactic installment of 'Desmond's Quotes' again features the Dave Brubeck Quartet performing the jazz war [...]
Continuing with my habit of profiling Brubeck albums that are less-known, here's another rather obscure album that Brubeck appeared on. Literally. The Music Tune: One For The Kids Recorded: May and June 1960 Personnel: Bill Smith- Clarinet Dave Brubeck- Piano Eugene Wright- Bass Joe Morello- Drums If Paul Desmond isn't on hand, and another horn [...]
This installment of Desmond's Quotes comes from yet another live appearance in a nightclub, luckily recorded from a radio broadcast over 60 years ago. In January of 1952, Dave Brubeck and his Quartet were in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of their first tour of the East Coast, or as announcer Nat Hentoff called it, their [...]
The Music Tune: Topsy Recorded: 14 June, 1955 in New York City Personnel: Lee Konitz- Alto Sax Warne Marsh- Tenor Sax Billy Bauer- Guitar Oscar Pettiford- Bass Kenny Clarke- Drums Yet again, the song I happened to profile happens to be one that identify with on spiritual level. It was unplanned and unintentional. This track [...]
The Music Tune: How Long Blues Recorded: 12 September, 1957 in New York City Personnel: Milt Jackson- Vibraharp, piano Ray Charles- Piano, alto sax Billy Mitchell- Tenor Sax Skeeter Best- Guitar Oscar Pettiford- Bass Connie Kay- Drums As the start of classes and all the stress and sleepless nights that go with it draws near, [...]
The Music Tune: Don't Worry 'Bout Me Recorded: Early (March?) 1954; location dubious Personnel: Paul Desmond- Alto Sax Dave Brubeck- Piano Bob Bates- Bass Joe Dodge- Drums Another Brubeck rarity and oddity, with a mysterious background to match. This 7" 45rpm contains just one performance, a live recording of the Brubeck quartet playing 'Don't Worry [...]
The Music Tune: Too Much Sake Recorded: 14 July, 1962 in New Jersey Personnel: Blue Mitchell- Trumpet Junior Cook- Tenor Sax Horace Silver- Piano Gene Taylor- Bass John Harris Jr.- Drums Look out world- here's my first post featuring a Blue Note album! An original (ish) at that? That's right, and it was within my [...]
It's A Raggy Waltz 