Live In '64 & '66

Label: Jazz Icons
Year: 1964
Released on LP: No
Released on CD: No

Tracks

Live In Belgium 1964

St. Louis Blues
Koto Song
Three To Get Ready
In Your Own Sweet Way
Take Five

Live In Germany 1966

Take The ‘A’ Train
Forty Days
I’m In A Dancing Mood
Koto Song
Take Five


6th October 1964 - Jazz Festival, Helsinki, Suomi - Finland

Unisphere

Notes

DVD includes 24-page booklet with liner notes by Darius Brubeck and foreword by Doug Ramsey

Total time: 67 minutes

Dave Brubeck
Paul Desmond
Eugene Wright
Joe Morello

The Box Set of "Jazz Icons" included a bonus DVD which included the performance of the Quartet in Helsinki, 1964.


Jazz Icons: website

Dave Brubeck boasts two beautifully filmed concerts from one of the most beloved quartets in jazz history. Captured at the pinnacle of their power and popularity, Paul Desmond (alto sax), Joe Morello (drums), Eugene Wright (bass) and Dave Brubeck (piano) explore the trails they blazed into the realm of odd time signatures with "Forty Days" and two versions of their groundbreaking hit "Take Five", as well as forays into world music with two unique interpretations of "Koto Song". Their intimate onstage chemistry and impeccable musicianship made the DBQ an award-winning jazz super group.


Doug Ramsey - Liner Notes - ©Reelin' In The Years Productions

Foreword: Aside from its music, which is among the best I have heard in hundreds of hours of listening to the classic Dave Brubeck Quartet, this DVD reveals an essential element of the band’s huge success. Concert audiences made the Brubeck group a phenomenon, at first on college campuses, then in the world at large, and those audiences could see the genuine esteem and fondness Brubeck, Desmond, Wright and Morello had for one another.

Without a trace of artifice or overt showmanship, the four radiated the enjoyment they got from playing together. It was infectious. People who may not have known a quarter note from a mouthpiece were captivated as they shared in the quartet’s naturalness and ease within the creative process.

Listen to the staid German audience come alive when they recognize the 5/4 vamp that introduces “Take Five.” By the mid-’60s, the band’s single record of the piece had sold more than a million copies and a time signature unusual to jazz had become water the quartet swam in. They played “Take Five” every night for nearly a decade, never the same way twice, and it got better as time went by. If you wish to see 5/4 time, watch for the shot of Dave’s heel keeping it—1,2,3-1,2; 1,2,3-1,2.

I wonder if he sleeps in 5/4.

Reviews

"The best footage of The Classic Quartet that I've ever seen" - Dave Brubeck 2007


All Music Guide – Review – copyright

The second series of Jazz Icons DVDs issued in 2007 included seven volumes of jazz greats videotaped for various European television networks. This edition captures the classic edition of the Dave Brubeck Quartet in concert from two separate tours of Europe. The 1964 performance from Belguim (from a studio taping) opens with an extended treatment of "St. Louis Blues" (long a favorite opener for the pianist) that showcases each member of the group as a soloist. Brubeck's sublime "Koto Song" has never sounded lovelier, as does his timeless ballad "In Your Own Sweet Way." "Take Five" displays Paul Desmond's witty lyricism, while Brubeck adds a degree of tension before turning the spotlight over to the phenomenal drummer Joe Morello.

The 1966 Berlin concert takes off with a rousing "Take the 'A' Train," followed by a spirited take of Brubeck's moving "Forty Days," written for his oratorio The Light in the Wilderness. The pianist's rollicking "I'm in a Dancing Mood" is an overlooked gem from the mid-'50s, offering the enthusiastic audience a light-hearted but swinging piece. A second version of "Koto Song" is played at a brisker clip, with the inevitable "Take Five" as the finale. Both the black-and-white video and the audio are excellent. The detailed annotation by Darius Brubeck (the leader's son, who is also a jazz pianist), rare period photographs, and creative packaging add to the value of this essential DVD, though it is better to buy the full boxed set, as it contains an additional bonus track by the Brubeck Quartet that is not included on this disc.
Ken Dryden

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