Legacy of a Legend

Label: Columbia Legacy
Year: 2010
Released on LP: No
Released on CD: Yes

Tracks

CD 1

1. Jeepers Creepers
2. Taking a Chance on Love
3. The Duke
4. Someday My Prince Will Come
5. Ode to a Cowboy
6. Thank You (Dziekuje)
7. Camptown Races
8. Gone with the Wind
9. Blue Rondo à la Turk
10. Take Five
11. Evenin'

CD 2

1. My One Bad Habit
2. Somewhere
3. Unsquare Dance
4. Summer Song
5. Something to Sing About
6. You Go to My Head
7. Mr. Broadway
8. Three to Get Ready
9. Out of Nowhere
10. St. Louis Blues

Notes

Music selected by Dave Brubeck.

Columbia Legacy release to honour Dave's 90th birthday on 6th December 2010.

Performers

Dave Brubeck
Louis Armstrong
Bob Bates
Norman Bates
Joe Benjamin
Alan Dawson
Paul Desmond
Joe Dodge
Billy Kyle
Carmen McRae
Joe Morello
Gerry Mulligan
Jimmy Rushing
Jack Six
Eugene Wright

The compilation contains a previously unreleased version (at the time of release) of “Three To Get Ready” from the last ever performance of "The Classic Quartet". It was released subsequently in 2011 on the Columbia Legacy release of “Their Last Time Out".

Reviews

All Music Guide - Review – copyright

Just in time for Dave Brubeck's 90th birthday celebration, Sony Legacy issues this double-disc compilation of tunes recorded between 1954 and 1970, beginning a year-long birthday campaign at the label and predating the screening of Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way, a documentary film whose executive producer is Clint Eastwood. (Another clebratory release, the Concord Music Group's the Definitive Dave Brubeck--also a double disc--covers the rest of his career before and after what is represented here.) Legacy of a Legend's 21 tunes were handpicked by the pianist. Of course his selections include favorites like "Take Five," "Blue Rondo à la Turk," "Jeepers Creepers," and his familiar takes on tunes from the movies and the theater, including "Gone with the Wind," and "Somewhere."

Hardcore Brubeck fans will have almost everything here, but there is one previously unreleased cut, a live take of "Three to Get Ready" from the Dave Brubeck Quartet's final concert in 1967. That said, hearing this music assembled in this way offers startling proof of Brubeck's truly iconic genius for the musical depth and range he displays as a composer, arranger, and pianist, both live and in the studio. He revisits the haunting (and now legendary) "Thank You (Dziekuje)," recorded live in Poland with its gorgeous tribute to Chopin that is still provocative. The harmonic interplay between the pianist and Paul Desmond showcased on "Camptown Ladies" and "Something to Sing About" (to mention just two places) is furthered by the subtly insistent but utterly innovative rhythm section of Eugene Wright and Joe Morello.

There are trio cuts here as well, and a couple of memorable vocal performances, too: there's Carmen McCrae fronting on "My One Bad Habit" from 1961's The Real Ambassadors and Louis Armstrong from the same album in an unusual setting with two pianists (Billy Kyle being the other) on "Summer Song." While there can be no arguing this is yet another compilation of Brubeck's material for Columbia, the quirky picks by the pianist provide a solid introduction for new listeners.

Thom Jurek

Copyright Rovi Corporation



Amazon.com - copyright - Editorial Reviews

Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist, composer, and living legend, will celebrate his 90th birthday on December 6, 2010. His recording career spans eight decades, and has given us some of the most recognizable and masterful music in popular culture. His iconic 1959 classic, Time Out, was the first jazz album to sell over 1 million copies, and included the hits "Take Five" (now in the Grammy Hall of Fame) and "Blue Rondo a la Turk," which played on jukeboxes around the world (both songs are included here). Brubeck has consistently proven that pure, undiluted jazz and great commercial popularity can comfortably go together.

Legacy Of A Legend is a 2-CD, 21 track compilation hand-picked by Brubeck himself. It spans his tenure with Columbia Records (1954-1970), and draws prime selections from 17 of his seminal albums. The majority of tracks feature the "classic" Dave Brubeck Quartet, comprised of the brilliantly lyrical, cool-toned altoist, Paul Desmond, the rock-solid bassist, Eugene Wright, and master drummer Joe Morello one of the most famous and longest-lived groups in the history of jazz.

Legacy Of A Legend s highlights also include Brubeck's historic encounters with Louis Armstrong, Leonard Bernstein, Gerry Mulligan, Carmen McRae, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, and Jimmy Rushing. One previously-unreleased bonus track, the famous "Three To Get Ready," has been added and comes from Brubeck's personal archives. The accompanying booklet notes are by Dave's son, Darius, and provide unique historical and anecdotal insights.

Dave Brubeck at 90 continues to compose and perform at an awe-inspiring pace. In 2007, he received the Living Legacy Jazz Award from the Kennedy Center one of countless honors bestowed upon him. The profundity and beauty of his music, and the sheer joy it has brought to fans worldwide, remains his Legacy Of A Legend.