A great 2-fer – with 2 different classics from
Dave Brubeck! First up is Gone With The Wind – a surprisingly nice little album from
Brubeck – one that's mostly comprised of old-fashioned type tunes, but which all take on a hip new light in the hands of his classic
quartet! As usual, Paul Desmond's one of the main assets of the set – working with
Brubeck to forge a slightly off-beat and swinging approach that brings plenty of nice moments to tunes like "Gone With The Wind", "Ol Man River", "Shortnin Bread", "Camptown Races", and "The Lonesome Road". Time Out is easily the crowning moment of genius for the legendary
Dave Brubeck Quartet – the moment when all things came together magically, and the group somehow elevated themselves to a whole new level in jazz! At the time of the set,
Brubeck, Paul Desmond, and the rest had already been making plenty of waves with their creative yet swinging approaches to modern jazz – heard on a number of successful albums for Fantasy and Columbia in the 50s. But with this record, they really knocked one out of the park – blending Desmond's cool alto,
Brubeck's unusual piano phrasing, Joe Morello's melodic drum work, and Eugene Wright's pulsating bass into a waltzing, almost modal groove that crossed over to many camps at the time! The classics "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo Ala Turk" were both hits on their own – but all titles are great, and include "Kathy's Waltz", "Strange Medow Lark", "Everybody's Jumpin", and "Pick Up Sticks".