Remember Paul Desmond’s old joke about being asked “how many of there are you in the quartet?”? Well, for one night in Vienna in 1967, there were only three musicians on stage instead of four, so the Dave Brubeck Trio played a set instead. Desmond never made it to Austria in time for the gig, after getting “distracted” during a night on the town in Hamburg. The audience’s loss back then is our treat today, as Live From Vienna 1967 documents the only known recording of Brubeck, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello performing as a trio. This show comes from near the end of the famed unit’s final tour. The band played their last performance in Pittsburgh on Boxing Day 1967 (issued on Columbia as The Last Time Out). All the pieces in the trio set were being played by the quartet on this tour, as we know from various recordings. But of course the audience could not have known how the same pieces might have sounded in Paris or Holland, so they get to savor these renditions in the trio format with more space for bassist Wright and drummer Morello. In his brief liner note, Dave’s son Darius Brubeck writes that his father had said “that the best concerts by the Classic Quartet took place when he was angry.” He was surely angry on this night, and the best way to make the crowd get past their expectations was to inject that frustration into the music. The trio comes roaring out with St. Louis Blues, a staple of jazz repertoire for decades by then, and frequently performed by the Brubeck quartet. The swinging never stops. Wright and Morello were one of the best bass and drums teams of the era, but since their work together was limited to Brubeck and his many projects, the pair didn’t get the respect they might have engendered if they’d had the chance to work in other contexts. Be that as it may, their contributions make this release a real standout in the extensive Brubeck discography. The crowd is loving it too, as their strong applause for a furious rendition of Someday My Prince Will Come makes clears. Live From Vienna 1967 is strongly recommended.
Brubeck Editions BECD20220301; Dave Brubeck (p) Eugene Wright (b) Joe Morello (d); Vienna, Austria, November 12, 1967; St. Louis Blues/ One Moment Worth Years/ Swanee River/ La Paloma Azul/ Someday My Prince Will Come/Take the "A" Train; 42:39. brubeckeditions.com
We all know that musical ability runs in families. For instance, four of Dave Brubeck’s six children became professional musicians. It turns out that the estimable pianist Cyrus Chestnut started playing when he was “between 2 and 3 years old” when his legs “were strong enough to climb up on the bench” and sit next to his father as he played the piano. The elder Chestnut, who was self-taught and played extensively in church, nurtured and inspired the talented youngster. McDonald Chestnut passed away in May 2021, at the age of 85. My Father’s Hands, with Chestnut joined by bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash, is the pianist’s “statement of gratitude” to his father. Chestnut has frequently done sessions in a trio format, and very successfully I might add. His penchant for soulful, churchy playing has long been recognized. For this very personal outing, Chestnut has chosen songs that have a special meaning for him, including a quartet of original compositions. The immense rapport of the musicians is apparent from the start, with the hard-bopping original Nippon Soul Connection. That should be no surprise: Chestnut and drummer Nash have played together many times over the years in varied contexts, while Nash and Washington have an almost unbelievably extensive mutual discography. They first teamed up on a Grady Tate session in 1989, and since then they’ve worked with everyone from Tommy Flanagan to Jimmy Heath and on and on. Their almost telepathic link helps the music dance and come alive. Chestnut’s one solo performance on this disc comes on a suitably emotional reading of I Must Tell Jesus. My Father’s Hands is a beautifully crafted tribute, and a story, in Chestnut’s words, “of a son being grateful to his father for all of the lessons taught.” Don’t miss it.
HighNote HCD 7339; Cyrus Chestnut (p) Peter Washington (b) Lewis Nash (d); NYC, December 14, 2021; Nippon Soul Connection/ Thinking About You/ Cubano Chant/ Baubles, Bangles and Beads/ Yesterday/ I Must Tell Jesus/ Working Out Just Fine/ There Will Never Be Another You/ But Beautiful/ Epilogue; 49:29. www.jazzdepot.com
