Dave Brubeck was an American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader who was very much an exponent of the west coast ‘cool school’ of musicians, and who became known for his experiments with time signatures. Having made his first recordings in 1946, he became one of the jazz artists to help pioneer the growth of the vinyl long-playing album market recording for the Fantasy label in the early ‘50s before he moved to Columbia in 1954. This 35-track 3-CD collection (it contains a number of extended performances) comprises almost all the titles from five ‘live’ albums which were recorded during these years, and released during or soon after this era. Those albums were “Jazz at Storyville”, “Jazz at the Blackhawk”, “Jazz at the College of the Pacific”, “Jazz At Oberlin” and “Brubeck & Desmond at Wilshire Ebell” on the Fantasy label, and “Jazz Goes To College” on Columbia, with the recordings presented mostly in chronological order of recording rather than release. It features one solo performance along with trio and quartet performances, with Paul Desmond (alto sax), bassists Wyatt Ruther, Ron Crotty and Bob Bates, and drummers Lloyd Davis, Joe Dodge and Herb Barman. It captures Brubeck’s groups as they took their music into clubs, concert halls and colleges on the west coast and across the country, and offers a fine showcase for their improvisations at a key stage of Brubeck and Desmond’s careers.
CD 1
1. OVER THE RAINBOW The Dave Brubeck Trio 1952
2. YOU GO TO MY HEAD The Dave Brubeck Trio 1952
3. CRAZY CHRIS The Dave Brubeck Trio 1952
4. GIVE A LITTLE WHISTLE, The Dave Brubeck Trio 1952
5. OH, LADY BE GOOD The Dave Brubeck Trio 1952
Live "Storyville", Boston, MA, October 12, 1952
6. TEA FOR TWO The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live "Storyville", Boston, MA, February, 1953
From the album “Jazz at Storyville” Fantasy 3240
7. ON A LITTLE STREET IN SINGAPORE The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1952
8. I MAY BE WRONG The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1952
San Francisco, CA, September, 1952
9. BLUE MOON The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
10. LET'S FALL IN LOVE The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live "Surf Club", Hollywood, CA, February, 1953
11. JEEPERS CREEPERS The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live "Black Hawk", San Francisco, CA, September, 1953
12. THE TROLLEY SONG The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
13. MY HEART STOOD STILL Dave Brubeck 1953
14. LAURA The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live "College of The Pacific", Stockton, CA, December 14, 1953
From the album “Jazz at the College of the Pacific” Fantasy 3223
CD 2
1. ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
2. LULLABY IN RHYTHM The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
3. I'LL NEVER SMILE AGAIN The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
4. I REMEMBER YOU The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
5. FOR ALL WE KNOW The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live College of The Pacific, Stockton, CA, December 14, 1953
From the album “Jazz at the College of the Pacific” Fantasy 3223
6. PERDIDO The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
7. STARDUST The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
8. THESE FOOLISH THINGS REMIND ME OF YOU The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
9. THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, March 2, 1953
From the album “Jazz At Oberlin” Fantasy 3245
10. LET'S FALL IN LOVE The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live Wilshire-Ebell College, Los Angeles, June 20, 1953
From the album “Brubeck & Desmond at Wilshire Ebell” Fantasy 3249
CD 3
1. I'LL NEVER SMILE AGAIN The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
2. STARDUST The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
3. ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
4. WHY DO I LOVE YOU The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
5. TOO MARVELLOUS FOR WORDS The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1953
Live Wilshire-Ebell College, Los Angeles, June 20, 1953
6. OUT OF NOWHERE The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1954
Live University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, March, 1954
From the album “Brubeck & Desmond at Wilshire Ebell” Fantasy 3249
7. LE SOUK The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1954 Live "Oberlin College", Ohio, March 9, 1954
8. TAKE THE 'A' TRAIN The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1954
9. THE SONG IS YOU The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1954
10. DON'T WORRY 'BOUT ME The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1954
11. I WANT TO BE HAPPY The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1954
Live "Masonic Temple", University Of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, March 1954
From the album “Jazz Goes To College” Columbia CL566
