Search - The Dave Brubeck Quartet :: Time Changes

Groundbreaking

Neil Cotiaux | North Canton, Ohio United States | 03/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There IS a single reason to own this CD, and it is "Elementals". While the shorter works that precede it are enjoyable enough, some sound almost too "middle of the road" after all these years (although the airy, lilting, sometimes raspy performance of Paul Desmond never fails to entrance me).



"Elementals" boosts this CD to Five Stars due to its groundbreaking fusion of jazz and symphonic composition. Since first hearing this piece more than a quarter-century ago, I've stuck with my impression that Brubeck has fashioned a wonderfully mesmerizing history of humankind through music. The opening, almost primordial in nature, segues into a Biblical-sounding passage artfully played by 'King David', then slides into a musical evocation of the Middle Ages, whereupon both the tempo and counterpoint between the Quartet and the Eastman orchestra hasten. Moving into the just-completed century, there are strains of swing, beebop and what I'll call missile-age musical pyrotechnics. It all comes to one crashing denouement, leaving you to wonder, 'What's next for Man'?



If you gave me the choice of listening to "Take Five", "Blue Rondo" or "Elementals" just one more time, I'd hesitate ... then choose "Elementals". It's that powerful and intriguing.



"

STILL GREAT OVER TIME

RobertC | Phoenix, Arizona | 01/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I still own the original vinyl version of this album and must have played it 200 times over the last 4 decades. While there are lots of pops and scratches, the thing still sounds damn good. The CD version is first rate and has all the dynamics and nuances that make this my favorite Brubeck album. I own it for one reason, "Elementals." If memory service me, the Eastman Conservatory asked Brubeck to write and perform a piece with their orchestra in celebration. What ensues is a truely inspired performance by both the orhestra and quartet.

As a bonus, the CD contains a shorter version of the piece with just the quartet that precedes the fully orchestrated recording. You don't have to be a composition major to appreciate the structure that Brubeck created in this exercise in theme development and variation. I still hear things for the first time after all these years."

Best Brubeck Album... bar none!

Jay Zimmerman | 02/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yeah, yeah, Elementals is superb... both versions are included on this reissue. But Iberia and Unisphere are utterly fantastic songs, and World's Fair is an amazing experiment with 13 beats per measure -- it WORKS! The percussion on Cable Car is progressive and entertaining, too. It's so rare I find an album (cd) which I have to listen to three times before I can take it out of the player. Best to buy this in the boxed set "For All Time"; it is a solid bargain."