Thursday 20 December 2012

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (1959)



This review is a bit of a jumping on the Dave Brubeck bandwagon after his passing some weeks ago. A passing mourned by many of my friends and the curiosity got the better of me as I had no idea who Dave Brubeck was before he passed away. I went out and got this album. I am glad I did.

My interest in jazz is mainly centered around very brash avant-garde jazz in the vein of Soft Machine's 3-7 albums. That and fusion. Time Out is a different kettle of fish, though. Softly spoken throughout and full of very minute small details which is easy to overlook. It requires a different type of mindset and approach.

What we got here is forty minutes of mostly understated jazz. This album also gives us one of the biggest jazz hits of all time; the superb Take Five. But it also opens with the song Blue Rondo which has also been done by ELP and other bands. Those two tracks are the signature tracks and they are superb. The rest of the album is more sofly spoken with subtle piano and saxophone solos supported by some excellent bass and drums. Dave Brubeck's piano work is excellent.

I believe this is a classic jazz album and one of the standard bearers in this genre. I am not surprised at all because this is truly a great album. I feel a bit alien to this music so it is not a masterpiece in my ears. But it is a great album though which has opened my ears to another world again. Just as Romantic Warrior (Return To Forever) and Third (Soft Machine) did some years ago. I am not so sure if I am a convert, though.

4 points 

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