DAVE BRUBECK TRIO - Live From Vienna 1967
BECD20220415
Dave Brubeck (piano); Joe Morello (drums); Eugene Wright (bass)
Recorded 12th November 1967 Konzerthaus Vienna
Dave Brubeck once said that his best recordings were done when he was angry. He had every reason to be angry on the 12th November. The date in Vienna was right towards the end of the Quartet’s last European tour. The last concert that the Quartet had played was in Hamburg and Paul Desmond disappeared after the concert. He told a friend that he was going to the Reeperbahn because he was researching a book called ‘Sin Cities of The Western World’. “. According to the biography by Doug Ramsey ‘“Paul took a lot of advantages,” Joe Morello said. “That’s too bad. He played Dave to the end. He was like the big bad boy of the group. Sometimes he didn’t show up and sometimes he was late. And I give Dave a lot of credit. He was so understanding. Inside, he was probably boiling, but he was understanding. Paul was an experimenter. I think that underneath, he was searching for something and never found it, but he was easy to forgive. I really loved the guy.”
The music produced that night in Vienna is unique, the only evidence of this particular trio. The main advantage is that it enables a hard look at Brubeck’s playing. Often in the past Brubeck’s playing was just dismissed as an annoying interlude between solos from Paul Desmond. Philip Clark in his biography of Brubeck makes the point that Brubeck, unlike most bop pianists, was not really interested in line because much of his solos were block chords. Clark sees Brubeck as closer to Cecil Taylor and Monk. Professor Lewis Porter has recently made very much the same points about Brubeck’s idiosyncratic approach to the piano. Ethan Iverson, Keith Jarrett and Don Pullen have acknowledged the influence of the pianist. Porter also makes the point about chords: ‘In my opinion, his best solos are daring, even astonishing’.
Porter argues that Brubeck’s solos are mainly chordal not linear melodies with no clear division into choruses. Porter believes that Brubeck is a jazz player who overlays his jazz with classical music analogies. Porter believes that Brubeck feels that it is more important to play something new rather that to swing. ‘Brubeck’s technique of improvisation was quite free. In fact, it was sometimes avant-garde and totally outrageous’. Porter believes that Brubeck likes to take an idea and follow it to wherever it takes him. It is high risk to outrageous leave the tyranny of the chord sequence.
It is interesting to compare the treatment of ‘Swanee River’ here in Vienna with the version recorded the next night in Paris and included Paul Desmond. Brubeck lays out most of the time during Desmond’s solo and the Paris version lacks the percussive feel of the Vienna take. The inventive improvisation has duets with Brubeck and Morello and the theme is only unravelled clearly right at the end.
With ‘St Louis Blues’ Joe Morello’s drums start. He is particularly well recorded throughout the concert and it is easy to hear why Morello was so highly acclaimed. The Brubeck solo shows him using the kind of keyboard techniques that have caused some to re-evaluate him.
Eugene Wright is allocated more space than he would secure normally. He peppers his solos with quotes which were common in the 1960s and that always appealed greatly to the audiences. Wright in his solos, because of the sound balance, seems more powerful than usual almost like Mingus.
‘La Paloma Azul’ was usually a feature for Paul Desmond and he brought a particular beauty to the piece. Brubeck was never noted for his subtlety and gentleness but he manages both those qualities here but Desmond's sensual lyricism is missed.
‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ has a waltz rhythm with Wright asserting the rhythm and Morello with brushes. Brubeck explores and enjoys working against the rhythm before bringing in a quote from ‘I’ll Take Romance’.
‘Take The A Train’ is almost a duet between Morello and Brubeck. There is a fierceness about their rapport and sparring and a considerable swing.
It is a beautifully recorded concert that shows the musicians playing with an urgency and a purpose as if to ensure that the absence of Desmond does not spoil the evening for the audience.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
BECD20220415
Dave Brubeck (piano); Joe Morello (drums); Eugene Wright (bass)
Recorded 12th November 1967 Konzerthaus Vienna
Dave Brubeck once said that his best recordings were done when he was angry. He had every reason to be angry on the 12th November. The date in Vienna was right towards the end of the Quartet’s last European tour. The last concert that the Quartet had played was in Hamburg and Paul Desmond disappeared after the concert. He told a friend that he was going to the Reeperbahn because he was researching a book called ‘Sin Cities of The Western World’. “. According to the biography by Doug Ramsey ‘“Paul took a lot of advantages,” Joe Morello said. “That’s too bad. He played Dave to the end. He was like the big bad boy of the group. Sometimes he didn’t show up and sometimes he was late. And I give Dave a lot of credit. He was so understanding. Inside, he was probably boiling, but he was understanding. Paul was an experimenter. I think that underneath, he was searching for something and never found it, but he was easy to forgive. I really loved the guy.”
The music produced that night in Vienna is unique, the only evidence of this particular trio. The main advantage is that it enables a hard look at Brubeck’s playing. Often in the past Brubeck’s playing was just dismissed as an annoying interlude between solos from Paul Desmond. Philip Clark in his biography of Brubeck makes the point that Brubeck, unlike most bop pianists, was not really interested in line because much of his solos were block chords. Clark sees Brubeck as closer to Cecil Taylor and Monk. Professor Lewis Porter has recently made very much the same points about Brubeck’s idiosyncratic approach to the piano. Ethan Iverson, Keith Jarrett and Don Pullen have acknowledged the influence of the pianist. Porter also makes the point about chords: ‘In my opinion, his best solos are daring, even astonishing’.
Porter argues that Brubeck’s solos are mainly chordal not linear melodies with no clear division into choruses. Porter believes that Brubeck is a jazz player who overlays his jazz with classical music analogies. Porter believes that Brubeck feels that it is more important to play something new rather that to swing. ‘Brubeck’s technique of improvisation was quite free. In fact, it was sometimes avant-garde and totally outrageous’. Porter believes that Brubeck likes to take an idea and follow it to wherever it takes him. It is high risk to outrageous leave the tyranny of the chord sequence.
It is interesting to compare the treatment of ‘Swanee River’ here in Vienna with the version recorded the next night in Paris and included Paul Desmond. Brubeck lays out most of the time during Desmond’s solo and the Paris version lacks the percussive feel of the Vienna take. The inventive improvisation has duets with Brubeck and Morello and the theme is only unravelled clearly right at the end.
With ‘St Louis Blues’ Joe Morello’s drums start. He is particularly well recorded throughout the concert and it is easy to hear why Morello was so highly acclaimed. The Brubeck solo shows him using the kind of keyboard techniques that have caused some to re-evaluate him.
Eugene Wright is allocated more space than he would secure normally. He peppers his solos with quotes which were common in the 1960s and that always appealed greatly to the audiences. Wright in his solos, because of the sound balance, seems more powerful than usual almost like Mingus.
‘La Paloma Azul’ was usually a feature for Paul Desmond and he brought a particular beauty to the piece. Brubeck was never noted for his subtlety and gentleness but he manages both those qualities here but Desmond's sensual lyricism is missed.
‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ has a waltz rhythm with Wright asserting the rhythm and Morello with brushes. Brubeck explores and enjoys working against the rhythm before bringing in a quote from ‘I’ll Take Romance’.
‘Take The A Train’ is almost a duet between Morello and Brubeck. There is a fierceness about their rapport and sparring and a considerable swing.
It is a beautifully recorded concert that shows the musicians playing with an urgency and a purpose as if to ensure that the absence of Desmond does not spoil the evening for the audience.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
