At Carnegie Hall

At Carnegie Hall is a jazz album by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, released in 1963 (see 1963 in music); it was recorded at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City. It was described by critic Richard Palmer as "arguably Dave Brubeck's greatest concert" and a "truly majestic record that should be in every serious collection"; for Don Mather it is "one of the all time great live jazz performances". http://www.musicweb.uk.net/jazz/2001/June01/Brubeck.htm

Related Topics:
Jazz - Album - Dave Brubeck Quartet - 1963 - 1963 in music - Carnegie Hall - New York City

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Ironically, originally expectations for the concert and album were low. Not only was drummer Joe Morello recovering from a case of the flu at the time, but New York had been suffering from a newspaper strike, and the group was worried that the attendance would be sparse.

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The worries were groundless; the group, whose long history together had by then made them extraordinarily close-knit, turned in a sparkling performance that has become a classic. It featured a remarkable level of co-ordination among the members of the group, at the same time as they display a relaxed yet powerful virtuosity. The latter was especially displayed in their numerous extended, yet still melodious, solo improvisations.

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High points include a particularly swinging rendition of For All We Know, and a memorable, powerful, and fascinating drum solo on Castilian Drums. The highlight of the concert is a remarkable rendition of the Brubeck classic Blue Rondo a la Turk, which starts off at a seemingly impossible pace, yet later builds in intensity as the tempo first slows for some intense solos, and then doubles again for a thrilling climax.

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The album is somewhat unusual because it contains the complete concert; the producer, Teo Macero, noted that "not a note or a phrase of the musical part of the progam has been deleted". The only change was to move It's a Raggy Waltz, originally heard after Eleven-Four, to a later position; this was done to allow the concert to fit onto two LP records.

Related Topics:
Producer - Teo Macero - LP records

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The liner notes (by George Simon, jazz critic for the New York Herald Tribune) include extensive comments by Brubeck on each selection.

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Several songs recorded during the show, including the memorable Blue Rondo a la Turk and Take Five, were later re-released on Adventures in Time (1972) and The Great Concerts ... Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Carnegie Hall (1988).

Related Topics:
1972 - 1988

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