Who's like Brubeck who isn't Brubeck?

December 10, 2007 3:30 PM

As happens about once a year, my dear boy has lately been stuck hard on Dave Brubeck. I love Time Out as much as he does, but I’m getting a little burned out. What other artists of albums might he enjoy?

We listen to a lot of jazz, so we’re pretty well covered on all the basic Miles Davis/John Coltrane/Thelonious Monk/ McCoy Tyner bases, so what modern or classic jazz are we missing? Our favorite stuff isn’t too experimental and retains a nice sense of swing. Who should we be listening to in order to fill that particularly Brubeckian itch without getting Blue Rondo a la Turk etched permanently on my ear drums?

posted by mostlymartha to media & arts (42 answers total)

Probably well familiar with it already, but Benny Goodman is famous for that sort of West Coast Cool jazz.
posted by ecab at 3:38 PM on December 10, 2007

Stan Getz. Charlie Byrd.
posted by brain cloud at 3:42 PM on December 10, 2007

Go to pandora.com and start a new station with Brubeck and see what it throws your way!
posted by tonci at 3:44 PM on December 10, 2007

You're probably already familiar with them as well, but I remember Dave Brubeck being my gateway into Modern Jazz Quartet.
posted by scody at 3:46 PM on December 10, 2007

'Tis the season for Vince Guaraldi.

Oscar Peterson and Cyrus Chestnut also come to mind—two favorites of mine.
posted by emelenjr at 3:51 PM on December 10, 2007

If by Brubeckian, you mean a sound built around a talented jazz pianist -- Brubeck was my gateway into Bill Evans (another big name you're likely already familiar with -- but on the off chance you're not, thought I'd throw him out there.) Live at the Village Vanguard is as good a starting point as any.

Another very listenable couple piano albums came from Vince Guaraldi (yeah, yeah, the Charlie Brown guy.) It's not revolutionary work, necessarily, but I am quite fond of it. To my mind, Guaraldi's stuff shares some of the west coast vibe of Brubeck's work of the period. Check out Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus and/or A Flower is a Lovesome Thing. Both are highly recommended.

Also, if you can't coax him off Brubeck entirely, you can shift him to some other albums, at least. Jazz at Oberlin is a fantastic album, as is Jazz at the College of the Pacific. Both predate Time Out by the better part of the decade, so you can hear the man in a different stage.
posted by theoddball at 3:58 PM on December 10, 2007

I like Ornette Coleman's Shape of Jazz To Come for some of the same reasons as I like Time Out.
posted by heresiarch at 4:00 PM on December 10, 2007

Grant Green hits that sort of laid-back spot pretty often, but he won't give you the rhythmic kick that Time Out will, if that's important. He's always got swing though. Jazz Samba - Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd might be a good album to check out for the laid-back feel as well, obviously with something a little different in the rhythm department as well.
posted by ssg at 4:09 PM on December 10, 2007

Looking for accessible enjoyable jazz try on Ramsey Lewis !
posted by jade east at 4:10 PM on December 10, 2007

Sun Ra Blue Delight
posted by hortense at 4:24 PM on December 10, 2007

Chick Corea?
posted by Cosine at 4:28 PM on December 10, 2007

oh yeah, big seconds on the Ramsey Lewis, The In Crowd is wonderful.
posted by Cosine at 4:28 PM on December 10, 2007

Oh, yeah, Stan Getz, Ramsey Lewis, and Bill Evans. Great reccos. He might also like Art Blakey's various combos, although that's more east-coast than west-coast jazz. Chet Baker. Marcus Roberts.

Thelonius Monk is a personal fave, and his album "Underground" is accessible.
posted by adamrice at 4:31 PM on December 10, 2007

Bud Powell, Art Blakey, Art Pepper, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane... I can go on and into different or more specific directions if ya want. But there's a start.
posted by miss lynnster at 4:31 PM on December 10, 2007

Also... Oscar Petersen & Ramsey Lewis.
posted by miss lynnster at 4:33 PM on December 10, 2007

On preview... I guess Ramsey Lewis was already mentioned. :) I like his work with Betty Carter a lot if you like vocalists, btw. And I agree on Grant Green too.
posted by miss lynnster at 4:36 PM on December 10, 2007

Art Tatum, Beegie Adair, Gerry Mulligan. Gene Harris, perhaps.
posted by sgass at 4:37 PM on December 10, 2007

Art Tatum's Tatum Group recordings from the mid-'50s are worth consideration, particularly Vol. 8 of the Verve re-issue series, featuring saxophonist extraodinaire Ben Webster. Erroll Garner, particularly (despite some flaws in it, as a live monophonic recording) his Concert by the Sea. Jimmy Rowles. Tommy Flanagan often exudes Brubeck's polish and rhythmic restraint; his anthem "Peace" has been the opening theme for WGBH's Eric Jackson's jazz program "Jazz with Eric in the Evening" for many years. McCoy Tyner belongs in every jazz collection; he was, and still is, John Coltrane's pianist. You won't find a more urbane voice, or a deeper living connection to the heart and soul of jazz, than McCoy Tyner.
posted by paulsc at 4:38 PM on December 10, 2007

Don Ellis.
posted by bricoleur at 4:40 PM on December 10, 2007

Oh, and for new releases, check out the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Some of the most talented musicians around. (Jeff & John backed Diana Krall up on her Live In Paris cd.)
posted by miss lynnster at 4:41 PM on December 10, 2007

Dr. Billy Taylor no longer records, but he doesn't have to. Billy Strayhorn died in 1967, only 8 years before stereo records were commercially made; don't let that dissuade you. His "boss," for many years, was Duke Ellington, who played some piano himself.
posted by paulsc at 4:43 PM on December 10, 2007

Ahmad Jamal. I can't imagine any Brubeck fan not liking his album Crystal, for instance, which is the first one of his I bought and still a favorite.
posted by kindall at 4:43 PM on December 10, 2007

Seconding Vince Guaraldi, and not just the Christmas stuff either.
posted by 4ster at 5:02 PM on December 10, 2007

Anything by Jimmy Giuffre from the late 50s and early 60s is worth seeking out. Easy to find and really great are "1961", "The Easy Way" or "The Jimmy Giuffre 3". They're all drummerless and have a chamber-like feel but swing as well.
posted by Zebtron at 5:03 PM on December 10, 2007

There are some good suggestions for you to follow already here. I feel as though the best two, the two closest to what you're asking for, are Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson.

Bill Evans, who you might already know, was with Miles Davis during some important stuff, and invented some whole sections of how jazz piano is now played during such albums as Kind Of Blue. But his solo stuff is incredible.

Still, I like Oscar Peterson better. His Night Train is probably my favorite piano trio album of all time. Laid back, civilized, gorgeous, highly intelligent, that album is dynamite.
posted by koeselitz at 5:35 PM on December 10, 2007

My most listened to jazz albums are Sonny Criss' Sonny's Dream and Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus.
posted by dobbs at 5:55 PM on December 10, 2007

A huge part of the "Time Out" sound is Paul Desmond on saxophone, so look for him.

No one has yet suggested "President" Lester Young, the gold standard of lyrical sax playing. Check out the stuff he did with Oscar Peterson.
posted by phliar at 6:18 PM on December 10, 2007

Charles Mingus, The Clown. perhaps
posted by edgeways at 6:46 PM on December 10, 2007

Chuck Mangione.
posted by fvox13 at 6:57 PM on December 10, 2007

If by Brubeckian, you mean a sound built around a talented jazz pianist -- Brubeck was my gateway into Bill Evans (another big name you're likely already familiar with -- but on the off chance you're not, thought I'd throw him out there.) Live at the Village Vanguard is as good a starting point as any.

This was what I was going to say, only better written. Additionally, the bass work on any of the Village Vanguard recordings (I believe there are three from that one performance) will blow away that on Time Out, which may help make up for the lack of Brubeck-style time signatures.
posted by Benjy at 6:58 PM on December 10, 2007

If it's the odd time signatures he likes, he might like Dave Holland.
posted by Alabaster at 7:14 PM on December 10, 2007

Anything where Zoot Sims and Al Cohn play together. Also Bob Brookmeyer. And Woody Hermann's "Four Brothers" and "Four Others."
posted by Alabaster at 7:16 PM on December 10, 2007

I'd bet he'd like Les McCann and Eddie Harris' Swiss Movement
posted by Ironmouth at 7:28 PM on December 10, 2007

Did anybody mention Chick Corea, Scientologist? 'Cause that might be a good place to start.

And yeah, Oscar Peterson and a lot of the other guys mentioned. I love Monk and Mingus but I'm not seeing the connection to Brubeck but maybe that's just musical illiteracy on my part.
posted by Opposite George at 8:25 PM on December 10, 2007

Horace Silver
posted by dirtdirt at 9:17 PM on December 10, 2007

I loves me some Jimmy Smith. He's the grandaddy of the Jazz Organ. His Blue Note stuff is more straight up jazzy, while his later Verve recordings edge more towards a bigger, more dynamic sound.
posted by Doctor Suarez at 10:08 PM on December 10, 2007

More votes for Bill Evans and Jimmy Giuffre
posted by one_bean at 10:41 PM on December 10, 2007

Early Herbie Hancock and Donald Byrd. They both get funkier later, but their early stuff is great ethereal Jazz, that reminds me a bit of Brubeck.
posted by afu at 11:38 PM on December 10, 2007

Tommy Flanagan.
posted by nicwolff at 12:05 AM on December 11, 2007

Wow, there's a ton of great suggestions. I won't be able to pick a best answer until I've done a bit of listening about and figure out which of the above he's getting for Christmas. Thanks for all the help.
posted by mostlymartha at 3:26 PM on December 12, 2007

After comparing the above suggestions to his/our wider collection, I think I've settled on the following:

Bill Evans - Portrait in Jazz
Oscar Peterson - Night Train
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers

There's about a dozen other albums I came across (Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Guiffre, and Les McCann and Eddie Harris are probably in the next round) that we totally need.
posted by mostlymartha at 3:29 PM on December 15, 2007

Forgot to mention Cannonball Adderly.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:35 PM on December 15, 2007