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Dave Brubeck Quartet, The Newport Jazz Festival, 3rd May 1967
Label: Wolfgang's Vault
Year: 1967
Released on LP: No
Released on CD: No
Tracks
1.Introductions by Billy Taylor
2.St. Louis Blues
3.La Paloma Azul
4.Cielito Lindo
5.Take Five
6.Win a Few, Lose a Few
Personnel
Dave Brubeck (piano)Paul Desmond (alto sax)
Joe Morello (drums)
Eugene Wright (bass)
Notes
Notes from www.wolfgangsvault.com
While on tour in Mexico in May 1967, the Dave Brubeck Quartet collaborated with some local musicians at the country's first jazz festival. Some of the material from that live recording (released on July 17, that year as Bravo! Brubeck!) was premiered at the 1967 edition of the Newport Jazz Festival. Following a swinging, highly interpretive take on W.C. Handy's classic "St. Louis Blues," featuring a dynamic drum solo by Morello, Brubeck and his crew put their stamp on two traditional Mexican numbers, the gentle and melodic "La Paloma Azul" and a lively, swinging interpretation of "Cielito Lindo," both featuring the inimitable Desmond alto sax sound that was once described as "the sound of a dry martini." Their set includes an abbreviated rendition of Paul Desmond's cool 5/4 vehicle, "Take Five" (sans Morello drum solo) and they close with Brubeck's jaunty midtempo swinger, "Win a Few, Lose a Few."
This set also marks the last performance of the classic quartet at Newport. Shortly after this showcase, Brubeck disbanded that particular group (which Willis Connover once referred to as "The Gestalt Four") and began playing with a new quartet featuring baritone sax ace Gerry Mulligan, bassist Jack Six and drummer Alan Dawson. But this July 3rd performance at George Wein's annual clambake on Narragansett Bay was a last hurrah for Mssrs. Brubeck, Desmond, Wright and Morello. And the adoring audience drank it all in, cheering loudly as the set concluded.