Dave Brubeck At Storyville: 1954

 

On The Alamo

Dave Brubeck At Storyville: 1954

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Columbia Records CL 590

1955

Dave Brubeck - Piano

Paul Desmond - Alto Sax

Ron Crotty - Bass

Joe Dodge - Drums

From the back cover: What Is Storyville?

Storyville is a Boston night club, located in the Copley Square Hotel, and is named after the Storyville district of World War I New Orleans, where jazz came to its first great flowering. It was the rowdy section of town, and got its name from Councilman Story, who put through the bill that set the boundaries of the sporting district, and then found that he had immortalized himself in a way that he could hardly have desired.

Oddly enough, the Storyville night club favors modern jazz despite the traditional flavor of its name. It is operated by George Wein, who is also the producer of Newport's highly successful annual Jazz Festival.

Also from the cover: Part Of Record Came From Tape Of Late Radio Broadcast - Two Musicians Share Bass Chores In New Set

The new "Dave Burbeck at Storyville" record consists of material recored off the air as well as selections taped while the group was playing strictly for the customers in the club.

On The Alamo and Don't Worry 'Bout Me are the group in the latter category. The rest of the numbers are part of a broadcast; in fact, the collection closes with announcer John McLellan closing a late air show with a few words over the last part of Back Bay Blues. Through careful editing and good luck, John's comments that "for theist 25 minutes you have been listening to the Dave Brubeck Quartet" hold true no matter which long-playing edition of this record you own: if it's the 12-inch edition, the announcement comes at the end of about 25 minutes of music on the second side of the "Lp"; if it's the second volume of the 10-inch edition, that whole volume takes about 25 minutes.

McLellan is also one of Boston's most popular disc jockeys. His program, "The Top Shelf," is heard over WHDH. As this record goes to press, the listeners of this show have just elected Dave Brubeck the Top Shelf Performer Of The Year For 1954, with four times as many votes as the second place artist. The poll, incidentally, was open to all classes of popular artists, bands, vocalists, jazz musicians, composers and arrangers.

The division between broadcast and non-broadcast performances in this record also mark a division in the personnel of the Quartet; Ron Cotty is the bass man on Alamo and Don't Worry, while Bob Bates plays bass on the broadcast selections. The rest of the Quartet is, of course, consistent throughout: Brubeck on piano, Paul Desmond on alto sax and Joe Dodge on drums.

On The Alamo

Don't Worry About Me

Here Lies Love

Gone With The Wind

When You're Smiling

Back Bay Blues