Search - Dave Brubeck, John Salmon :: Dave Brubeck: Nocturnes

For the serious Brubeck fan

Wyote | Seoul | 08/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Dave Brubeck has been involved with a lot of great music in his time, most importantly the all-time classic jazz album "Time Out" (expensive version: Time Out -50th Anniversary (2 CD/1 DVD Legacy Edition); cheap version: Time Out).



A review I found on another website pointed out that the pieces collected here were not originally composed as nocturnes. From what I can tell, they were dubbed "nocturnes" when a book of Brubeck's work was published as elementary piano exercises: Dave Brubeck / Nocturnes.



The pieces are extremely varied. Some seem like they could've been composed by anyone after a semester of music theory; others are obviously more complex.



His serious fans don't need anyone to recommend anything. They'll want this - as the review cited earlier suggested - as another glimpse into the mind of a very creative musician. But anyone who hasn't heard "Time Out" should certainly start there. The second album I would suggest is Brubeck - The Gates of Justice (Milken Archive American Jewish Music), though others might say something like Time Further Out. (Don't neglect Dave Digs Disney.)



But even when when you're going to move into this territory, you want to know about John Salmon Plays Dave Brubeck, which is considered by some people to be a really good album. (I don't know that anyone feels that way about "Nocturnes." But I don't know anything like everyone. So that's what it's worth.)



Hey, one way or another, explore Brubeck a bit, and then a bit further. If you suspect this is an album for you, well, at least I enjoy it, and I'm sure many others would too. But if it doesn't flip your lid, try one of the other albums."