Search - Dave Brubeck :: Classic Album Collection

Jazz Impressions of the USA on CD for first time

Victor D. Stewart | Windermere, Florida United States | 11/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 3-CD box set consists of re-releases of 4 Brubeck Columbia LPs. All but Jazz Impressions of the USA have previously been re-released by Columbia (Sony). What makes this box set worth 5 stars is the CD (Disc 2 in the box set) of Jazz Impressions of the USA, previously not re-released. Brubeck collectors have been waiting for years for this CD and now they can finally own it. This is not a Sony re-release- it was done by a label named Golden Stars of the Netherlands and was produced in Portugal. I have no idea about the legal aspects (licensing, royalties, etc) but the music quality on the CDs is very good. As far as the USA disc is concerned it follows the content and order of the 8 songs on the LP (CL-984)."

Jazz Goes To Junior College

jokamachi | california | 08/23/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At last we see an album that has been passed over time and again for release on cd; but don't despair, Brubeck's college jazz albums are unquestionable watermarks for the quartet and some people forget that they sold like hotcakes throughout the fifties and early sixties. I have treasured "Jazz at Oberlin College" and "Jazz Goes to College" ever since I first heard them, but "Jazz Goes to Junior College" has been crying out for attention for too long, too long... that is, until now.



Again, rejoice; Paul Desmond stretches out with some of his most creative soloing on these performances with Bates and Morello doing a brilliant of job holding down the fort. Brubeck's usual heavy handed style is nowhere to be seen; there are some dizzying, incredibly fluid runs that dismiss any notion of the man as someone who simply comps his way through any given song. Brubeck is inventive as he's ever been, perhaps moreso for the inspiring performances Desmond turns in.



It's regretable that this release comes to us as part of a package and not an individual release. Perhaps Columbia will someday see the error of their ways and give this excellent album the just dues that it deserves. Til then, fingers crossed, but in the meantime I can say that the sound is rendered excellently on cd.



"

A charming set with one glaring fault ...

Des Francis | Winnipeg, MB CANADA | 03/17/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"...namely the re-mastering job on 'Jazz Impressions'. It is fraught with low-end rumble not found on the other 3 albums reproduced in this collection. Since the release of this set, Gambit Spain has seen fit to re-issue 'Impressions' yet again (available on this website for $15.98). It is a vast improvement.



Given that fact, the modest price for this collection is not quite the 'bargoon' it appears to be. However, if you're listening in straight stereo through average size speakers and not using a subwoofer, then the cited rumble becomes rather less obvious."