Dave Brubeck Quartet
Dave Digs Disney: Legacy Edition
Sony Legacy
www.legacyrecordings.com
By George W. Harris

You can argue until your blue in the face about which was the greatest
quartet of all time, but Dave Brubeck’s quartet with Paul Desmond/as,
Eugene Wright/b and Joe Morello/dr is definitely in the running. They
put out a plethora of swinging yet sophisticated discs in the 50s and
60s that is simply astonishing in its volume, breath and depth. Yes,
everyone has a copy of Time Out, but this little ditty, which has been
given a facelift with a 2 cd reissue package, is one you’ll play almost
as often, if not more so, as you don’t have it under your skin, yet.

The two discs are divided into mono and stereo treatments of the same
tunes from the 1957 session, with a handful of alternate takes of the
likes of “Heigh Ho” “When You Wish Upon A Star” and the iconic “Someday
My Prince Will Come” which when it was originally released set the
world on fire with its groundbreaking use of meter. Some bonus tracks,
like “So This Is Love” and the de rigeur “previously unreleased”
material fill out the collection here. Musically, there just ain’t no
better game in town. Desmond’s alto is as breezy as a hike in the
Canadian Rockies, while the yoked rhythm team of Wright and Morello are
as in sync as charioteers from Ben Hur. Brubeck himself, still crazy
after all these years, was vilified at the time for his heavy handed
piano work, but it succeeds immensely here, laying down ebullient
renditions of “Give A Little Whistle” and “Alice In Wonderland.” 50+
years later, this music still sounds fresh, exciting and alive. Dare to
make that bet on anything put out the past 6 months?