Dave Brubeck - We're All Together Again for the First Time

Perfect and orderly. That was the way Jim kept his music collections. He knew exactly where each album, CD, cassette tape and digital recording was on the shelves.

Things have kinda fallen apart since he left, which is how I ended up with another jazz CD to study. I reached in the box of CDs and pulled out Dave Brubeck's We're All Together Again for the First Time.The Jazz album, recorded before a live audience, was first released in 1973, and the first CD version in 1990. It is nice to hear some of Jim's favorites, even if I never knew they were from Dave Brubeck. 

I have a love-hate relationship with the jazz-great's music. I hear great tunes which I can carry in thought all day, and bam! The tune slips into a cacophony of discordant sounds - those were the parts that Jim liked best.

The group consisted of Dave Brubeck on the piano, Paul Desmond on alto sax,Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Jack Six on bass, and Alan Dawson on Drums.My favorite piece on the album is Take 5. The classic jazz tune had my feet tapping instantly. And, I remember dancing around with the kids -babies at the time - as Jim played the music.

The CD was created from the original analog recording. Beside  Take Five by Paul Desmond, the CD includes Truth by Dave Brubeck, Unfinished Woman by Gerry Mulligan, Koto Song, by Dave Brubeck, Rotterdam Blues by Dave Brubeck, and Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Kenneth Casey and Maceo Pinkard ( solo piano performance by Dave Brubeck). I connected each to a Youtube recording for your enjoyment.

Brubeck, 1920 to 2012, was born  into a musical family in Concord, California.  When he was four, he began studying piano with his mother.  88-years-later his career ended being designated a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress for his jazz and classical work. His biography on his Web page states "he was one of the most active and popular musicians in both the jazz and classical worlds. With a career that spanned over six decades,  his experiments in odd time signatures, improvised counterpoint, polyrythm and polytonality remain hallmarks of innovation."  That's a mouth full!

Listen to a classical recording of Brubeck Meets Bach. Now that I can listen to all the time. If you want to learn more about Dave Brubeck, or find out where you can hear his music, visit his Web site. You can also listen to more of his tunes there.  His music lives on!