The first pure jazz album in my collection,
the first completely instrumental album,
the oldest recording so far in this
listening extravaganza, 1959, one of the
most popular jazz albums ever,
or at least, with “Take 5,” one of
the most famous and recognizable,
or at least, the first jazz album
ever to sell one million copies.
Vince Guaraldi made all jazz quartets
sound like Christmas music, so
this record, this particular kind of
jazz, even though it predates the
Charlie Brown Christmas, sounds
as much like Christmas as anything,
just eight days away now. I’m amazed
at the fidelity of this recording;
despite the age and the crackle of this
particular specimen, it sounds great.
The drums, in particular, sound like
iconic jazz drums, tuned too high,
no dampening whatsoever, and the
brush work, exquisite. I don’t know
enough about the history of jazz
to know how important this record
was and remains. What I do know
is that it swings, baby, it’s full
of brain-stretching time signatures,
the solos are all fantastic,
and I like it. I like it a lot.
Note’s on the vinyl edition: Time Out, The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Columbia Records, 1959. I have no idea how old this pressing might be. It sounds good despite some imperfections and noise artifacts. It has my late mother-in-law’s name, Winnie, written on the back cover. I had forgotten where this record came from. Part of the inheritance. She was not necessarily a music enthusiast, so it’s a mystery how she came by this record, but it’s lovely to know that at some point she bought it or acquired it, and felt it was an important enough possession to put her name on.
If you’re just now tuning in, I am attempting to listen to every record in my collection in alphabetical order by artist’s name, and afterward writing a poem-like-thing in response to the experience. In most cases (so far, all cases but one), I’m writing one poem-like-thing for each artist, no matter how many records of theirs I have listened to from the collection.
michael jarmer 