Search - Dave Brubeck :: Tritonis

Great little-known CD

12/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is a hidden gem -- Lord, Lord is hauntingly beatiful."

A very pleasant surprise

M. L. Arnautov | Bucks., UK | 05/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I do wish I could give this album five stars, but old-fashioned as I am, I simply do not get on with Bergonzi's sax sound. Try as I might I find his solos both harsh and pointless -- YMMV.



Turning to happier things, there are lovely bits, like the nod to fugue in Brother Can You Spare a Dime (not to mention the cheeky quote from Rachmaninov!). But what really stands out for me is Chris Brubeck's contribution. His electric bass is somewhat more assertive than is often the case, and it has some great duets with Dave's piano, showing a wonderful rapport between the two Brubecks, particularly on Brother Can You Spare a Dime and on Tritonis. And when the bass comes in after Randy Jones' excellent brief solo on Mr.Fats, and is then joined by the piano -- the resulting sound is the purest joy! By nice contrast, Lord,Lord is restrained and quite haunting, again thanks to Chris Brubeck, this time on a bass trombone.



Dave himself is on excellent form, clearly enjoying himself, but then what else is new? :-)



In short a great but flawed album with some magic touches. If you like Brubeck's music, get Tritonis, tweak up the base on your hi-fi, and enjoy! (Just a shame about that sax...)"