Search - Brubeck, Desmond, Van Kriedt :: Reunion

Why so long overlooked?

THX1138b | NY USA | 07/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The "reunion" is of Dave and his college buddies Paul Desmond, Dave van Kreidt (ts), Norm Bates (b) and a new guy on drums, Joe Morello, from 1957. The guys were well into their 30s by this time and if not established, certainly accomplished. Brubeck and Desmond had been playing together for a 5 or 6 years. This recording predates the famous "Take Five" session by almost 3 years but liking that one won't guarantee you'll like Reunion. This is not the Brubeck quartet doing stnadards.



The compositions are all Kreidt's (pronounced, Kreet, by the way) For the scholarly, the tunes are classically influenced and would probably qualify for the "3rd stream". For the rest of us, or me at least, they are interesting, engaging and I find many have stayed with me over time. The musicians are obviously comfortable with one another and with the material, though there is something tentative in the recording that makes you think they did not have a lot of time with the material before recording. That is not a bad thing, especially among jazz musicians. Coupled with the open feeling of the recoding techniques of the day, it lends this recording a very welcome loose feeling that I find refreshing, especially in contrast to the almost relentless emphasis on "tight" that has dominated much of jazz ever since. All of that could make this sound hopelessly dated to modern ears, but if you have a feeling for the music and the recording of the day, you're likely to find this a rewarding listen.



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