Recorded at Oberlin College, Ohio in 1953, the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Jazz at Oberlin album is one of the earliest works in the cool jazz genre.

As well as Dave Brubeck (piano) the album also features Paul Desmond (alto sax), Lloyd Davis (drums) and Ron Cotty (bass).

This new edition of the album is released as part of the OJC Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. It is also presented in a Tip-On Jacket.

Side A:
1. The Way You Look Tonight
2. How High the Moon

Side B:
1. These Foolish Things
2. Perdido
3. Stardust

Recorded live in Finney Chapel on the campus of Oberlin College in Ohio, this landmark album is essential listening in any collection. A breakthrough in the Cool Jazz style, this event also marked the change in acceptance of this music as both a serious area of study in the classroom and as respected entertainment in the concert hall.

I think, given history, we can all agree that Brubeck’s first great jazz moment is one that has been overlooked for such a long time; albeit, perhaps not by true blue jazz aficionados.

This dynamic gig revealed Brubeck’s vivacious creative relationship with west coast alto saxophonist Paul Desmond to a new and youthful audience, confirming the then 29-year-old Desmond as a sensational sax improviser, whilst at the same time indicated new directions for jazz that didn’t slavishly mirror bebop; and even hinted at free-jazz piano techniques still years away from realization.

The significance of Jazz at Oberlin didn’t stop with the music either. The enthusiasm of the college audience, audible throughout the album, marked Brubeck’s eager adoption by America’s (predominantly white) youth – a welcome that soon extended around the world, and brought the pianist chart hits for a rhythmically intricate instrumental jazz in a period in which the newly emerged rock’n’roll was carrying all before it.

Simply put, Jazz at Oberlin has the sound of a chill and perfect spring day. Breezy, mild, laid back and fun. Indeed, the whole record manages to be positive without being cloying or boring. The reordering of the tracks for the later issues makes the album slightly less enjoyable by front loading all the slower tracks first, making it feel a bit sluggish, but that is the smallest, the tiniest of so-called complaints, trust me.

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