DAVE BRUBECK: POINTS ON JAZZ AND OTHER WORKS FOR TWO PIANOS Anthony and Joseph Paratore – pianos Koch Jazz 3-6925-2 £££ Points On Jazz; They All Sang Yankee Doodle; Four By Four; Tamale; TPT 50’.

Dave Brubeck’s renown as one of the originators of the West Coast Cool School of jazz perhaps overshadows his considerable achievements as a composer in his own right. A onetime pupil of Darius Milhaud, he shot to prominence with his 1959 Columbia recording, Time Out, which featured the ever-popular Paul Desmond composition Take Five, as well as his own Blue Rondo a la Turk. It seems unfortunate, however, that Brubeck’s art-musician side has largely been ignored; instead, criticism has, in some circles, referred to him as a ‘has-been’ since, in essence, his jazz style has not adapted in the same way one might expect of mainstream art-music composers. But such criticisms are generally unfair; in fact, that his style has remained unchanged only proves his remarkable ability at managing to keep a well-worn style of jazz, which for most has a relatively inflexible framework, sounding so fresh that Brubeck’s place in the music-history books of the future seems assured.

...each ‘variation’ is a tiny gem, a masterpiece on which Brubeck’s personality is stamped clearly...

The main work on this Koch Jazz release, a jazz ballet that is based on the classic song There’ll be no tomorrow, is here performed in its original two-piano version. It is described by Brubeck as a set of variations, but how close this description is to reality is questionable – one often envisages variation technique as something more cerebral than this, which I would choose to refer to as a set of character pieces, each written in a particular style, using the same melodic or harmonic basis, of which each can be performed out of context without the support of the others. That said, each ‘variation’ is a tiny gem, a masterpiece on which Brubeck’s personality is stamped clearly, whether it be the ‘Scherzo’, pitted with virtuoso arabesques, the jazz-waltz, a speciality of Brubeck, or the ‘A La Turk’, which parodies his most successful composition to that point, the name of which hardly needs mentioning. Alongside are other equally-attractive cameos: an elaborate and well-worked fugue (despite a somewhat disappointing set of middle entries), a genre which here proves to be more successful than when attempted by other (supposedly more) highly-esteemed composers, or the slightly clichéd, but none the less attractive ‘Blues’, with its sumptuous parallel harmonies or funky blues-like middle section.

The remainder of the disc warrants careful listening as well; it is an enigmatic display of the more ‘serious’ side to his compositional character in which two Brubeck compositions and a delightfulhors-d’oeuvre by his late brother Howard present, in varying degrees, the evidently-substantial influence of Milhaud. They All Sang Yankee Doodle is, in particular, a pleasant surprise since it combines Brubeck’s natural jazz-like wit with some cleverly-worked out polytonal structures that mirror the rich cultural diversity that makes up America’s population. Hornpipes and Irish dances are layered upon the archetypal American folksong Yankee Doodle Dandy (presumably the French stayed north of the border), in a tapestry of rich and effective colour. Whilst one can perceive Milhaud’s fingerprints in the music, the suite Four By Four is a composition that doesn’t sound Brubeckian – no jazz influence is apparent and whilst cadential formulæ and harmonic progressions are somewhat clichéd, the composition bears second and third listenings. What a surprise!

But if the serious side to Brubeck mirrors aspects of Milhaud, listen to Howard Brubeck’s Tamale. Howard was Milhaud’s assistant and the influence is perhaps stronger here than in any other composition by a Milhaud associate or apparatchik – it’s a delightful conglomeration of Latin rhythm, ‘suspect’ tonality and rich humour (by the way, Koch, please use English inverted commas in the English sleeve notes – German will simply not do!).

Overall, performances are good, although I have a few misgivings about aspects of Points On Jazz, where the Paratores create a somewhat unpleasantly harsh sound that conflicts with Brubeck’s luxurious harmonies. For this reason alone, I still prefer my old EP recording by Gold and Fizdale (Columbia CL1678), which is sadly no longer available. But the remainder of the disc is a treasure and a recording of Points on Jazz has long since been overdue.

A good choice, Koch!

Ian le Prévost