Bennett & Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962

Wow. Imagine sitting in a small audience (at the White House no less) and hearing both Dave Brubeck's and Tony Bennett's groups (along with Pearl Bailey-not heard here), and then having the rare chance to hear Brubeck and Bennett together with a small rhythm section. The tracks that feature both artists singly and together have now been resurrected and released in this complete concert from 1962. The sound is very good if ever so slightly flat-but the performances are so good the slight overall flatness isn't an issue.

Both artists were appearing that day, and decided on the spur-of-the-moment to perform together on a few songs. A small taste of this collaboration can be heard on Brubeck's album "Vocal Encounters", along with other well known vocalists like Jimmy Rushing, Peter, Paul & Mary, Louis Armstrong, Carmen McRae, and a couple of others. This White House concert was during the period when Bennett was high on the charts with "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", and Brubeck's tune "Take Five" (and album "Time Out") was very popular. Also in 1962 Brubeck's combo was voted best group in a Down Beat poll. It would take almost 50 years before they performed together again (2009 Newport Jazz Festival), so these few songs are some of the only recorded evidence of these two masters at work together.

Brubeck's group consisted of Brubeck, Eugene Wright-bass,Paul Desmond-alto sax, and Joe Morello-drums. Bennett's group was Ralph Sharon-piano, Hal Gaylor-bass, and Billy Exiner-drums. On the tracks with Bennett and Brubeck, the personnel are Brubeck-piano, Wright-bass, and Morello-drums.

Included are fine versions of Brubeck's "Take Five" (of course) at a slightly faster but satisfying pace, "Castilian Blues", and the lengthy (11 minutes) "Nomad", which is a real high point. Bennett sings some great standards like "It's A Small "World", a very nice version of "Make Someone Happy", (a short) "Rags To Riches", "One For My Baby...", and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" (another good version), among other tunes. Bennett and Brubeck perform "Lullaby Of Broadway", "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)", "That Old Black Magic" (found on "Vocal Encounters"), and "There Will never Be Another You". Both Bennett and Brubeck loved the American songbook and injected some excitement into the songs. Bennett's enthusiasm on these songs is palpable, and Brubeck injects just the right amount of jazz feeling into these compositions. The spontaneous feel of this part of the concert is easily heard and gives this set an added depth.

Any fan of Bennett and/or Brubeck should check this out. Plus, the price makes this a no-brainer. The jewel case tray has a nice period photo of some of the crowd from the concert-a nice touch. The 10 page booklet has an essay (by Ted Gioia) on finding the tapes and the concert. Also included are some pretty nice b&w; photos taken during the concert-icluding one of Pres. Kennedy addressing the students before the concert, and one of Brubeck at the piano with the Washington Monument in the background. The tapes were "discovered" in the vaults upon Brubeck's death. Why they've never been released until now is a mystery. Apparently they were stored with some classical music recordings from the same period by mistake. This is especially nice because they played together so rarely. But at least we now have this good little concert when both artists were (arguably) at their peak. A nice little album to sit back with and hear two fine artists singly and together.

Fans have probably heard the above mentioned album "Vocal Encounters", plus there's another album titled "Brubeck & Rushing" (1960), featuring Jimmy Rushing. Just remember, the tunes by Rushing are identical on both albums. Brubeck isn't normally thought of as an accompanist to a vocalist, but these two albums have some surprisingly good performances on them-especially the Rushing album. Mr. "5 X 5" is in pretty good vocal form and Brubeck fits in well with Rushing's style.

The time is 1962 and Kennedy's Camelot is in full flower. The White House wanted to thank that summer's interns for their service and what better way to do so than a Rose Garden concert with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and Tony Bennett? Both performers were at their zenith with the world on a string around their fingers. Jazz aficionados have long salivated at the thought of what this concert must have been like, putting these two incomparable performers together. The excitement over the performance swelled the size of people wanting to attend requiring a larger venue, so the concert moved to the nearby Sylvan Theater by the Washington Monument. On a balmy late August night the setting and the performers truly had to be a show to remember, but sadly, while the concert was recorded, the tapes of the show were lost. What was lost is now found and it's sad that this comes out so shortly after the great Dave Brubeck's passing, yet it's a great reminder of what an innovator he was and how sharp his Quartet was at the time. That all the performers were so sharp and up to the task is testament to their skills and talents as they had no time to rehearse and the entire concert set was largely put together on the fly. While individually the Brubeck Quartet and Bennett were confident in their own sets the two were going to perform together and neither had done so before. Talk about a high wire act! But as supremely talented performers this high risk/high reward gamble was likely to pay off and it does so in spades! Early on in his set Bennett appears a bit taken aback and nervously says "I don't know what's going to happen, but wish me luck." Clearly luck was on everyone's side!

Brubeck's Quartet opens the show demonstrating their intense improvisational skills and swinging like there's no tomorrow. Their hit "Take Five" opens the set and then the Quartet takes the audience on a global tour with "Nomad", "Thank You", and "Castilian Blues", all knowing nods to the Quartet's service as global ambassadors of American music and their service overseas to a grateful government. "Thank You" in particular is an often overlooked gem by the Quartet and here they play it with a gleeful abandon that is truly captivating. By the end of "Castilian Blues" I truly didn't want the party to end...there's so many other songs from that era of the Quartet I'd love to hear and I'm sure the audience was dying for more. As a kid I'd never cared much for Tony Bennett, but as time passes I realize what a genuine talent he is. That honeyed voice and his incomparable phrasing is truly a beauty to behold and he's holding forth in rare form here. His take on "Make Someone Happy" here is probably the best version I've ever heard and his take on "One for my Baby" is likewise top shelf. Bennett is in his element and just killing it. The money shot here is the final third of the show where the Quartet returns to back up Bennett on a romp though the classic American Songbook and here is your high risk/high reward playing out and paying out. Together they remake and remodel such classics as "Lullaby of Broadway", "Chicago", "That Old Black Magic", and "There Will Never Be Another You" with such finesse and virtuoso performances that you're dying when the show ends. Surely there must be an encore? Can they play a few more? Sadly no, and listening to this I could almost imagine myself sitting on The Mall taking this all in and screaming for more. I'm sure the audience did too and so will you. What makes this recording so memorable and beautiful is that it captures these artists in full flower, in front of an ecstatic audience, in a truly memorable venue, giving what may perhaps be the performance of their lives. The sound quality is actually quite good given the limitations of live recording equipment at the time and the whole thing fairly crackles with life and vitality. Being able to sit in and listen is the rarest privilege and treat, and one I want to repeat again and again.

Dave Brubeck rarely played with vocalists, Carmen McRae and Jimmy Rushing being noted exceptions. In this archive-discovered session we hear Tony Bennett joining the Trio (Desmond out) on four tracks. Before that encounter, the Brubeck Quartet and Bennett and his musicians each go it alone on stage. White House Sessions these days are indoors, but in 1962 it was outdoors on the Mall where instead of Washingtonian VIPS, the public was invited. The odd academic backdrop sign said White House Seminar, American Jazz Concert; as demonstrated here, the artists did make their musical case. The sound engineering was far from the standards of today, yet the performances are riveting. As expected, Take Five leads off. The 11-minute Nomad allows Joe Morello to stretch out on his drums. Paul Desmond is featured in Thank You and Brubeck's piano work toward the end takes on a classical style (in honor of Poland's Chopin). Castilian Blues (Castilian Drums at the 1963 Carnegie Hall Concert) has another Morello solo. Bennett's set introduces the newly recorded (and immediately well received) I Left My Heart in San Francisco, which is particularly interesting to me as a San Franciscan who had not heard it before it became Bennett's signature song. He sings briefly five other tunes before that: Just in Time, Small World (my favorite of the group), Make Someone Happy, Rags to Riches, and One for My Baby. The highlight, of course, are the final tracks, totaling merely 11 minutes, where the two jazz stars interact. There was vamping and spontaneity. And fun. This historic album is like opening a time capsule, filled with wonders of times past, when styles were fresh. The recording also includes comments by Brubeck on the tunes. Remarkably, both jazz greats continued on through the decades, ever popular and honored, with their music as appreciated today as that evening long ago.