Brubeck Time
Encyclopedia
Brubeck Time is a jazz album by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
. It was recorded in 1954 and originally released in 1955 under the Columbia label as CL 622. According to a 1955 letter written by Avakian to Brubeck, the cover was "designed around the Boris Artzybasheff
painting which was on Time
magazine's cover of November 8th".
come walking through the woods.' 'Gee,' said Paul wistfully, 'So would I.' 'One,' I said, noticing the glazed expression about Paul's eyes 'two, three, four'. And we played it. Hence, the title."
The piece is a 12-bar blues
in the key
of B-flat minor; however, the melody of "Balcony Rock," an improvised blues in B-flat Major, recorded on Jazz Goes to College
, is used to conclude "Audrey."
There is an "alternate take," released as "Makin' Time," that is rarely heard. It was released on a Columbia
compilation LP called I Like Jazz! around 1955.
. Mili had agreed very reluctantly to film the Quartet at work, and the band felt "on pretty shaky ground" at the session. Their first attempt to record was, as a result, very tentative, and Mili's dismissive pronouncement after this "take" made Brubeck's "blood [begin] to boil." The resulting second "take," heard on the album, was an "expression of rage and frustration."
The piece was an improvisation on the chord
progression to "Oh, Lady Be Good!
"
Tracks 1, 2, 7 recorded on October 12, 1954; tracks 5, 8 recorded on October 13; tracks 3, 4 recorded on October 14; track 6 recorded on November 10, 1954.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
The Dave Brubeck Quartet is an American jazz quartet, founded in 1951 by Dave Brubeck and originally featuring Paul Desmond on saxophone and Brubeck on piano...
. It was recorded in 1954 and originally released in 1955 under the Columbia label as CL 622. According to a 1955 letter written by Avakian to Brubeck, the cover was "designed around the Boris Artzybasheff
Boris Artzybasheff
Boris Artzybasheff was an American illustrator active in the United States, notable for his strongly worked and often surreal designs....
painting which was on Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's cover of November 8th".
The pieces
Most of the pieces in the album are old standards revisited by the quartet. There are two original compositions, though: "Audrey" and "Stompin' for Mili".Audrey
This piece was meant to contrast the excitement of "Stompin' For Mili." Brubeck recalls the recording of the piece in a 1955 letter:" 'I would like,' said Gjon [Mili], closing his eyes and raising his hand expressively, 'I would like to see Audrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
come walking through the woods.' 'Gee,' said Paul wistfully, 'So would I.' 'One,' I said, noticing the glazed expression about Paul's eyes 'two, three, four'. And we played it. Hence, the title."
The piece is a 12-bar blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of B-flat minor; however, the melody of "Balcony Rock," an improvised blues in B-flat Major, recorded on Jazz Goes to College
Jazz Goes to College
Jazz Goes to College is a 1954 album documenting the North American college tour of The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Joining Brubeck are Paul Desmond, Bob Bates and Joe Dodge, whose support All Music calls "uniformly flawless" in a "perfect representation" of the quartet's early work...
, is used to conclude "Audrey."
There is an "alternate take," released as "Makin' Time," that is rarely heard. It was released on a Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
compilation LP called I Like Jazz! around 1955.
"Stompin' for Mili"
This song was recorded for photographer Gjon MiliGjon Mili
Gjon Mili was an Albanian-American photographer best known for his work published in Life.-Biography:Born to Vasil Mili and Viktori Cekani in Korçë, Albania, Mili came to the United States in 1923. In 1939, Mili landed a job as a freelance photographer for Life...
. Mili had agreed very reluctantly to film the Quartet at work, and the band felt "on pretty shaky ground" at the session. Their first attempt to record was, as a result, very tentative, and Mili's dismissive pronouncement after this "take" made Brubeck's "blood [begin] to boil." The resulting second "take," heard on the album, was an "expression of rage and frustration."
The piece was an improvisation on the chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
progression to "Oh, Lady Be Good!
Oh, Lady be Good!
"Oh, Lady be Good!" is a 1924 song by George and Ira Gershwin.The song was introduced by Walter Catlett in the Broadway show, Lady, Be Good!, written by Guy Bolton, Fred Thompson, and the Gershwin brothers, starring Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire. It ran for 330 performances in its original...
"
Track listing
- "Audrey" (Brubeck, Desmond) – 3:35
- "Jeepers CreepersJeepers Creepers (song)Jeepers Creepers is a popular 1938 song and jazz standard. The music was written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for the movie Going Places. It was premiered by Louis Armstrong and has since been covered by many other artists.-Overview:...
" (Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
) – 4:57 - "Pennies From HeavenPennies from Heaven (song)"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and words by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1936 film of the same name...
" (Johnny BurkeJohnny BurkeJohnny Burke was a Newfoundland songwriter and musician. He was nicknamed the 'Bard of Prescott Street'. He wrote many popular songs that artists in the 1930s and 1940s released.Popular songs by Burke include:* The Night Paddy Murphy Died...
, Arthur JohnstonArthur Johnston (composer)Arthur Johnston was a composer known for such works as “Mandy, Make Up Your Mind,” "Pennies From Heaven," and many others...
) – 6:28 - "Why Do I Love You?" (Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
) – 5:42 - "Stompin' for Mili" (Brubeck, Desmond) – 5:27
- "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" (Andy Razaf, Fats WallerFats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
) – 5:06 - "A Fine RomanceA Fine Romance (song)"A Fine Romance" is a popular song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, published in 1936.The song was written for the musical film, Swing Time, where it was co-introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers...
" (Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Dorothy FieldsDorothy FieldsDorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
) – 3:48 - "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", also sung as "Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?", is one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression. Written in 1931 by lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was part of the 1932 musical New Americana; the...
" (Edgar Yipsel Harburg, Jay GorneyJay GorneyJay Gorney was an American theater and film song writer. He was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky in Białystok, Russia on December 12, 1894. In 1906, he witnessed the Bialystock pogrom which forced his family into hiding for nearly two weeks, after which they fled to the United States...
) – 5:17
Tracks 1, 2, 7 recorded on October 12, 1954; tracks 5, 8 recorded on October 13; tracks 3, 4 recorded on October 14; track 6 recorded on November 10, 1954.
Personnel
- Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
- piano - Paul DesmondPaul DesmondPaul Desmond , born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five"...
- alto sax - Bob BatesBob Bates (musician)Bob Bates was an American jazz bassist.Bates was born in Pocatello, Idaho. His mother was an organist; his brother is the bassist Norman Bates. As a youth he played tuba, trumpet, and trombone. He studied classical bass from 1944 to 1948 and played with Sonny Dunham in 1947 and with Jack Fina from...
- double bass - Joe Dodge - drums
Technical personnel
- George Avakian – producer
- Nicholas Bennett – packaging manager
- Steven Berkowitz – A&R
- Didier C. Deutsch – producer, reissue producer
- Howard Fritzson – art direction
- Russell Gloyd – producer, reissue producer
- John Jackson – production assistant
- Randall Martin – design
- Patti Matheny – A&R
- Seth Rothstein – director
- Mark Wilder – remixing, remastering