# CD review: Dave Brubeck Trio – Live From Vienna 1967 – 2022: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2022/06/02/cd-review-dave-brubeck-trio-live-from-vienna-1967-2022-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2022-06-02T15:59:35+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**The latest in posthumous recordings courtesy of the Brubeck Editions series, _Live
from Vienna 1967_ is a thrilling, you-are-there live recording featuring the pianist
and superb sidemen Joe Morello on drums and upright bassist Eugene Wright.**

It’s worth noting that the November 12, 1967 performance at the Konzerthaus in Vienna,
Austria wasn’t supposed to feature a trio; saxohpnost Paul Desmond missed the gig.
And as the liner notes (by Chris and Darius Brubeck) on this release explain, that
put the pianist and band leader in a foul mood. Happily for listeners, that created
more musical fire; Brubeck plays with an intensity that burns. The band leaps right
into the fray with a thrilling reading of “St. Louis Blues,” and then never lets
up. As fine a musician as Desmond was, he isn’t missed here at all; instead the 
recording – in superb fidelity, it should be noted – is an extra-special treat in
part because of the rarity of releases by this configuration.

The three musicians play like their lives depend on it, leaning hard into the material.
Not a note is wasted. The trio swings hard through Brubeck’s “One Moment Worth Years,”
and the reading lasts some _ten_ moments, with the rhythm section holding down the
beat as the pianist lays down some atonal phrasing amid the copiously melodic bits.
Even with a mere three musicians, the music seems to be going fast and slow all 
at once.

Stephen Foster’s classic “Swannee River” gets a reinvention here, with a wild, unbridled
sound that draws from musical traditions far from the South. Yet it’s somehow true
to the song’s spirit at the same time. The intensity finally lets up with “La Paloma
Azul,” a familiar Brubeck number that’s no less lovely for its well-known character.

With lots of flourish, Brubeck launches into “Someday My Prince Will Come,” and 
as the arrangement unfolds, it showcases the trio’s ability to put across multiple
musical textures within the confines of a single number. The set concludes with 
another well-loved tune, Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the ‘A’ Train.” Morello’s precise,
varied and splashy percussion work conveys the kinetic character of the railroad,
while Wright’s supple bass work supports the nonstop thrill ride that is Dave Brubeck’s
work on the ivories. Start to finish, _Live from Vienna 1967_ is a magical musical
tour de force, and an essential part of any serious Brubeck fan’s collection. (That
said, everyone else should dig it, too.) Get it on vinyl.

Side 1
 A1. St. Louis Blues Arranged By [Arr. By] – Dave Brubeck Written-By – W.
C. Handy 8:55 A2. One Moment Worth Years Written-By – Dave Brubeck 10:10

Side 2
 B1. Swanee River Arranged By [Arr. By] – Dave Brubeck Written-By – Stephen
Foster 7:37 B2. La Paloma Azul Arranged By [Arr. By] – Dave Brubeck Written-By –
Traditional 6:09 B3. Someday My Prince Will Come Written-By – F. Churchill, L. Morey
5:28 B4. Take The A Train Written-By – Billy Strayhorn 4:16

**Piano – Dave Brubeck**
 **Bass – Eugene Wright** **Drums – Joe Morello**

![Dave Brubeck: Live from Vienna 1967 (Brubeck Editions)](https://i0.wp.com/cdn2.
jazztimes.com/2022/06/Dave-Brubeck-Trio-Live-from-Vienna-1967-800x800.png?resize
=640%2C640&ssl=1)

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