Search - Dave Brubeck :: Quiet As the Moon

Schroeder in the Desert

Skylark Poems | of a summer | 09/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These tracks were recorded over a two plus year period beginning in late 1988 for a Peanuts Cartoon. I have titled this review "Schroeder in the desert" for obvious reasons. Dave seems to like getting "Forty Days" onto as many unrelated albums as possible and I'm sure I've heard "desert and the parched land" on another platter. In fact this is the 3rd straight album I've reviewed with "Forty Days" on it. It wasn't intentional. I swear it!



The album features:



Dave Brubeck (piano)

Bobby Militello (flute, alto sax, tenor sax)

Matthew Brubeck (cello)

Jack Six (bass)

Chris Brubeck (elec bass, bass trombone)

Randy Jones, Dan Brubeck (drums)



8 of the tracks were written by Dave, the rest by others. Great music.



If you love Brubeck you WILL buy Quiet As The Moon. "When I Was a Child" is pure genius in stride, not bad licks on the drum either. Militello is smooth on "Travelin' Blues" with a few righteous outbursts. "When You Wish Upon a Star" is so sweet you could eat it or kiss it [as you prefer]. Lastly, or maybe second since that's it place in the Moon cosmology, Dave is exquisitely adventurous with his piano banging on "Linus and Lucy."



Matthew Brubecks cello on "Forty Days" help make it the best of 6 instances of that title in my collection. The Bass Trombone and the Cello definitely make this a different and welcome mix!"

A family that plays nice together

James A. Vedda | Alexandria, VA USA | 10/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album, recorded in three sessions from 1988-91, is a great mix of old and new, fast and slow, demonstrating an impressive amount of variety for such a small ensemble. The opening track is a jazz waltz version of "Bicycle Built for Two" that is classic Brubeck. "Travelin' Blues" is everything you'd expect from a jazz quartet rendering a comfortable walking-bass blues. Nice blues action in "When I Was a Child" too.

In contrast, five of the 12 tracks feature the smooth, rich cello of Matthew Brubeck in settings reminiscent of recordings that Yo-Yo Ma has done with jazz artists (including the elder Brubeck). That gives us contemplative tracks like "Forty Days" and "The Desert and the Parched Land." But a slight shift in instrumentation yields joyous jazz like "Benjamin" and "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and gorgeous ballads like "Quiet As The Moon" and "When You Wish Upon a Star."

A major contributor to this album is Bobby Militello, who plays flute on seven tracks and alto/tenor sax on two. His playing is just the right combination of technique and emotion, and he gets a great sound out of all the horns. Clearly, he's not one of those woodwind doublers who sounds uncomfortable on anything other than his main instrument. Listening to this collection, you'd be hard pressed to figure out which one is his main instrument.

To complete the family gathering, Chris Brubeck plays electric bass on eight tracks and bass trombone on one; Dan Brubeck plays drums on two tracks. I highly recommend that you join this family gathering."