After a lengthy spell of no posts, I found some time to write. I won't say free time, because if I do, an assignment will suddenly appear. While sitting in a particularly boring lecture the other day, I began to think about Paul Desmond's public and private spats with drummers in Brubeck's quartets. Radio personality [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
After focusing on records for so long, this post is a change of pace and a return to one of the original reasons why I started my blog in the first place: Paul Desmond and Dave Brubeck! In this edition of 'Desmond's Quotes', I finally and actually solve a mystery that was sparked by something [...]
Another album featuring music from the Newport Jazz Festival, this time from the year 1956, and another live album from the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Like most jazz records, particularly Brubeck's, this album has a mysterious backstory. The Music Tune: 'In Your Own Sweet Way' Recorded 6 July, 1956 at the Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode [...]
This is the big one. The unicorn. The white whale. The record that woke the vinyl collector within me. The search for this record took years, but this year the vinyl gods smiled on me, and I am now the owner of this rare bootleg album. One of the reasons why I've been on the [...]
After a brief hiatus due to finals and end-of-the-year projects and assignments, I am back! What, you thought the 'college' in 'College Jazz Collector' was for decoration? The Music Tune: 'Tangerine' Recorded live 5 March, 1958 in Copenhagen, Denmark Personnel Dave Brubeck: Piano Paul Desmond: Alto Sax Eugene Wright: Bass Joe Morello: Drums This album [...]
Update! After some correspondence with a reader, I opted to change the date for this recording. You can find the illuminating comments below this post in the comment section. To celebrate, I've included another track from the album. Enjoy! This is a big one. The search for this album (as well as another rare Brubeck [...]
To start off this journey as College Jazz Collector, I figured I should start off with this Brubeck album, for a few reasons. First (and most importantly), it's the Dave Brubeck Quartet; I almost HAD to. Secondly, this is probably my all-time favorite jazz album. And thirdly, this album was recorded exactly 60 years ago [...]
Paul Desmond's penchant for slipping quotes from other songs or solos into his own solos is well known among jazz musicians and his fans. Desmond's discography is rife with examples. Dave Brubeck often talked about the way Desmond would weave together different quotes from various songs to tell a story or communicate a message. [...]
It's A Raggy Waltz 