Dave Brubeck Gets All Subtle On Your Ass

[JSngry]

Revisiting some Teenage Favorites and came to this one...his soloing here gets more intriguing the closer/longer you listen, both the harmonic decoys and the rhythmic deconstructions spin out with a deep logic instead of spiraling out of some wildly exuberant sillygaggin, but geeeeeeeeeeeezus, listen to the comp behind Desmond, so much space, and movement only when meaningful - and listen to Desmond return the favor justifying  all that space that Brubeck leaves, they both pivot off of each other in a really deep, soulful way, if we can equate "soulful" with "deeply and nakedly intimate", and I do. Not everybody looks the same naked, but everybody is naked, definitely. Where/when/etc. but "if" is not a consideration. Intimacy is probably best left to choice, but naked is a fact of life.

 

 

That first turnaround, the way Brubeck dekes it and then lands on the second 8,whoa...and the way they land on the 5th bar of the bridge..that's just right in all kinds of ways.

 

I've always wondered if Brubeck was expecting a second Desmond chorus and didn't gett one, or if he was jsut taking his time coming back in. Either way, he's had that left hand ahnd thing going almost since the beginning and just lets it keep going. Beautiful if a cover, beautiful if a plan.

 

And a very special hello to Gene Wright (you think it's easy to land right (no pun intended), with the way Brubeck is playing here, no, not easy) & Joe Morello for not getting in the way, which a completely different, deeper, more serious level of engagement than is staying out of the way. Hello gentlemen, hello!

 

I'm really funny with Brubeck/Desmond 4tets, it either pulls me all the way in or shrinks into yada-yada zone, all or nothing. I'm supposed to believe that it's all the same really, but, sorry, if it all was like this, I would so want to have all the records, and I so do not, and believe me, that has not been a casual or unconsidered decision. But this...DAMN.

[Head Man]

Hey, that's REALLY nice!

Do you know where it's taken from, Jim?

[mikeweil]

That's what I wanted to ask, too ...

[mikeweil]

The only Brubeck/Desmond version of this tune with Wright and Morello I can find in Lord is from the December 1965 to February 1966 recorded LP Anything Goes ! - Dave Brubeck Plays Cole Porter.

[jlhoots]

The only Brubeck/Desmond version of this tune with Wright and Morello I can find in Lord is from the December 1965 to February 1966 recorded LP Anything Goes ! - Dave Brubeck Plays Cole Porter.

That's the one I have.

[JSngry]

Yeah, it's from Anything Goes. That's a good record.and a Sexy Album Cover.

[Head Man]

Yeah, it's from Anything Goes. That's a good record.and a Sexy Album Cover.

Thanks everyone......

[mikeweil]

But Anything Goes seems to be one of the Brubeck LPs Columbia did not reissue on CD. Or am I mistaken?

[xybert]

One of his last albums for Columbia; maybe he was finally hitting his stride!

But Anything Goes seems to be one of the Brubeck LPs Columbia did not reissue on CD. Or am I mistaken?

Not sure if it's available as a single CD, but it's part of the Columbia box:

[JSngry]

Japan, for sure. Don't know about anywhere else. My copy is a dimestore coutout LP from 1972 or so, came with the plastic perforated open inner sleeve.

It's mostly a "Brubeck trio with Desmond solos" album, maybe that's why it's not more high profile. But I'm telling you, it's a cut above, afaic.

And it's here:

and if you drive an old car, here:

Found this too:

[JSngry]

Oh, and a tip for all the people who get to know your records personally - my copy is mono, and as was the custom in those days the front slick was printed for both mono and stereo, its vertical placement determining what was shown. On the mono version, the slick was placed higher up, so at the bottom of the back jacket, you can see the model's legs go further up and there's just a little fringe of a plaid skirt or something. You can sorta see it here on the CBS version, which I'm thinking had a slightly different vertical framing than did the US Columbia. In fact, certain that it does, because on the back TOP of the US cover, I can see the Stereo doodad that would have been upper left on the front.

One more memory about this record - I recall strongly LOL'ing in the library when first reading the DB review, a few years after looking further into Brubeck and not really feeling too much hotjazzlove for most of it then, it opened with something like "The pedant of the piano meets the poet of the pop song", I mean, pretty much, right? But I'm also thinking the reviewer gave it 4 or more stars too, Like I said, better than many might expect.

[JSngry]

Yeah, ok, see - stereo:

vs Mono:

Mono, FTW.

Unless those are Paul Desmond's legs, in which case, I do not want to know about it.

[jlhoots]

I have a Japanese CD of Anything Goes which I believe was 1000 yen.

Also Angel Eyes & My Favorite Things.

[762rob]

I sure miss those dime store/drug store  cutout bins and all those 87 cent Lp's.... lots of monos with stickers "This record will play on a STEREO phonograph"

Now here we are living in the days of vinyl mono mania....