Seven Classic (CD)

'Cool Jazz' personified, Dave Brubeck is one of few post-bop bandleaders to remain a household name well into the third millennium. With his favoured use of unconventional time-signatures, meters, rhythms and tonalities, which all together made for a unique style of jazz that incorporated elements of classical and other traditional musical forms, Brubeck was a commercial oddity in the late 1950s and early 1960s; a serious jazz performer who had hit singles. The early 1960s witnessed The Dave Brubeck Quartet garner even more commercial and critical success. Recorded in 1962, Bossa Nova U.S.A (Columbia, 1963) found the group flirt with 'the cool wave of Brazil', for which, with one eye on the pop chart, Brubeck composed a set in-keeping with current trends. It's follow-up, Brubeck In Amsterdam (Columbia, 1963), a live album recorded in the Dutch capital in late '62, was a more traditional affair, and found the Quartet in fine form on a number of Brubeck classics. The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall (Columbia, 1963), an undeniable milestone in the group's career, is often hailed as Brubeck's greatest live album, with critic Jim Santella commenting; this is timeless music from a classic ensemble.' On the 5th of December 2012, one day before his 92nd birthday, Dave Brubeck died following a cardiac arrest, many years after his legacy had been cemented. Named a Kennedy Center honouree in 2009 for contributions to American jazz, Dave Brubeck remains in memoriam as one of the greatest jazz composers and musicians of all time, becoming what the Los Angeles Times described as 'one of jazz's first pop stars.' This 4 CD Box Set serves to highlight some of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's greatest and oft-overlooked albums, all faithfully remastered and presented here as both a perfect introduction to the great man's music, and as a welcome collection for those already versed in this extraordinary body of work.

Track List

1. Bossa Nova U.S.A
2. Vento Fresco
3. Trolley Song
4. Theme For June
5. Coracao Sensival
6. Irmao Amigo
7. There'll Be No Tomorrow
8. Cantiga Nova Song
9. Lamento
10. This Can't Be Love
11. Since Love Had It's Way
12. King For A Day
13. The Real Ambassador
14. They Say I Look Like God
15. Dizzy Ditty
16. Cultural Exchange
17. Good Reviews
18. Brandenburg Gate
19. St Louis Blues
20. Bossa Nova U.S.A.
21. For All We Know
22. Pennies From Heaven
23. Southern Scene
24. Three To Get Ready
25. Eleven Four
26. It's A Raggy Waltz
27. King For A Day
28. Castillian Drums
29. Blue Rondo A La Turk
30. Take Five
31. Iberia
32. Unisphere
33. Shim Wa
34. World's Fair
35. Cable Car
36. Elementals
37. Tokyo Traffic
38. Rising Sun
39. Toki's Theme
40. Fujiyama
41. Zen Is When
42. The City Is Crying
43. Osaka Blues
44. Koto Song
45. Theme From Mr Broadway
46. Broadway Bossa Nova
47. Autumn in Washington Square
48. Something To Sing About
49. Sixth Sense
50. Spring In Central Park
51. Lonely Mr Broadway
52. Summer On The Sound
53. Winter Ballad
54. Broadway Romance
55. Upstage Rumba
56. St Louis Blues
57. Koto Song
58. Take The 'A' Train
59. Take Five