In 1959 Dave Brubeck wanted to record an LP using unusual time signatures he’d discovered when his band was touring abroad. Columbia’s executives were nervous about this and insisted he first make a more conventional album to cover the risk involved. This was Gone With The Wind, a concept album with tunes inspired by the American south. The LP that Columbia was worried about was taped three months later. It was Time Out – the first jazz album to sell a million copies.
Gone With The Wind provides new twists to familiar songs. Most of the compositions were first takes with several having been played by the band for the first time. Several of the arrangements heard on the album were not previously planned and were accomplished spontaneously while recording.
Each band member chose personal favourites for inclusion in the session. Brubeck picked Swanee River and Georgia On My Mind. Paul Desmond selected Lonesome Road and Basin Street Blues. Eugene Wright’s choice was Ol’ Man River and Joe Morello’s pick was Shortnin’ Bread. Regarded by many as their most swinging record to date, Gone With The Wind received a five-star rating in Downbeat.
This reissue on CD include a second album, Jazz Impressions Of Eurasia, which was recorded after the band’s 1958 world tour when they played 80 concerts in 14 countries. As the album’s title indicates, Brubeck tried to create an impression of a particular locality by using elements of its folk music within the jazz idiom.
The opening track, Nomad, was inspired by the drums that Turkish nomads used to ward off wild dogs. It features Joe Morello on tom-toms. Brandenburg Gate was influenced by Bach. The Golden Horn was built around the rhythm of the Turkish word for “thank you”. Similarly, the track entitled Thank You, subtitled Dziekuje, comes from the Polish word for “thank you”. Marble Arch was simply inspired by Marble Arch in London’s Hyde Park. The concluding number, Calcutta Blues, was in reference to the dire conditions caused by plague in that city. In it, Brubeck’s piano imitates a sitar and Morello’s drum solo a tabla.
Each band member is on top form in both albums and sound quality is excellent throughout. The CD comes with an interesting 16-page booklet, with photos and original as well as updated liner notes.
Discography
[Gone With The Wind] (1) Swanee River; The Lonesome Road; Georgia On My Mind; Camptown Races (version 1); Camptown Races (version 2); Shortnin’ Bread; Basin Street Blues; Ol’ Man River; Gone With The Wind; [Jazz Impressions Of Eurasia] (2) Nomad; Brandenburg Gate; The Golden Horn; Thank You (Dziekuje); Marble Arch; Calcutta Blues (79.45)
(1) Brubeck (p); Paul Desmond (as); Eugene Wright (b); Joe Morello (d). Los Angeles, 22-23 April 1959.
(2) as (1) except Joe Benjamin (b). New York, 28 & 30 July, 23 August 1958.
Poll Winners Records 27216
