40th Anniversary Tour of the UK [Live]

From Jazziz
This live document of the 78-year-old pianist's 1998 British tour - four decades after he first made the trip - is not so much an excuse for nostalgia as a declaration that Brubeck still has plenty of good music left in him.

Though much of the album is given over to standards - five of the eight quartet tracks - the group had never before performed "Deep Purple" or "All of Me," and hadn't recorded "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town." There is some notable, new, Brubeck-penned material as well: the tango "The Time of Our Madness," the blues "Oh, You Can Run (But You Can't Hide)," and the rowdy 12-tone piece "The Salmon Strikes." The CD closes with Brubeck's touching solo-piano tribute to departed colleague Gerry Mulligan. "Goodbye, Old Friend" is a quiet, pretty ballad he taped in an empty hall before a concert.

Brubeck's favorite arranging tactic of building gradually but inexorably appears immediately on the opening track, "Someday My Prince Will Come." An abstract, staccato piano intro leads to a lyrical statement of the theme, then to a thickly chorded improvisation, all down-tempo. Then Brubeck returns to the theme in a swinging uptempo that emphasizes the tune's waltz meter. Finally bass and drums join, and then the sax launches immediately into a solo.

Alto saxophonist Bobby Militello, who joined the Brubeck quartet in 1982, can capture the light sound for which his predecessor, Paul Desmond, was famous, but he tends to favor a burlier tone and a busier, more bebop-oriented improvising style. The versatile rhythm section, equally adept at swinging hard and at delicate support, consists of U.S.-based Brits Alec Dankworth (bass) and Randy Jones (drums).

There will inevitably be people who will say that Brubeck is repeating himself here. Well, in a career of more than 50 years, he's done his share of innovating: How much more could he do without losing his personal style? Brubeck may have traded in his famous black-rimmed glasses for contacts, but his characteristic vision remains intact. And that's reason enough to recommend this album.

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