Jazz at Oberlin was recorded in the Finney Chapel at Oberlin College in March 1953. It is known as one of the early works in the “cool jazz” stream of jazz by departing from bebop and even hinting at free-jazz piano techniques. It is also credited as the performance that pushed Oberlin and other colleges to legitimize jazz as a serious area of musical and intellectual study.
• As well as Dave Brubeck (piano) the album also features Paul Desmond (alto sax), Lloyd Davis (drums) and Ron Cotty (bass).
• This 180-gram reissue was cut from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI, and comes packaged in a tip-on jacket with Obi.
Dave Brubeck (1920-2012) was born in Concord, California. He went to the College of the Pacific as a pre-med student with the aim of becoming a veterinarian, but soon changed his major to music. Upon graduation in 1942, he entered the armed services where he served under Patton in the European theater of military operations. Upon his discharge in 1946, Dave returned from Europe to study composition with the famous French composer, Darius Milhaud. With encouragement from Milhaud, Brubeck began composing and performing with an octet, which included Paul Desmond, Cal Tjader and Bill Smith. The Dave Brubeck Trio, with Cal Tjader and Ron Crotty, won both the DownBeat and Metronome awards for Best New Instrumental Group.
Following a near fatal swimming accident which incapacitated him for several months, Brubeck organized a quartet with his old friend, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. They were an inseparable team from 1951 to 1968, selling millions of records and winning dozens of jazz polls. After the original quartet disbanded, Dave Brubeck toured and recorded with Gerry Mulligan, Alan Dawson and Jack Six; and for two years led an all-Brubeck Quartet with his sons, Darius, Dan and Chris.
Track Listing:
Side A
1. The Way You Look Tonight
2. How High The Moon
Side B
1. These Foolish Things
2. Perdido
3. Stardust
