Countdown—Time In Outer Space
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

'' Countdown—Time in Outer Space '' is a studio album released by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1962 on Columbia
LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of  revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...
CS 8575 (stereo) and CL 1775 (mono). The front cover features the 1959 painting ''Orange and Black Wall'' by Franz Kline. In Australia the album appeared on the
Coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...
label. It was re-released, for the first time in digital format, in 2004 as part of a compact disc collection titled ''Dave Brubeck: For All Time.'' It was again released as part of the box set ''The Dave Brubeck Quartet: the Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1955-1966''. Both CD re-releases feature a bonus track titled "Fatha".


Recording

Dedicated to astronaut
John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...
the album was another in a series of concept albums studying the exploration of unusual meters and
polytonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key (music), key simultaneity (music), simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one di ...
within a jazz context. Recorded between May 3, 1961 and February 12, 1962, it was put on tape in many of the same sessions that appear on '' Time Further Out''. Brubeck encouraged the quartet members towards the development of new time signatures for this album. The first track, "Countdown"'','' is based on a typical "8 to the bar" boogie, stride piano in the manner of Earl Hines or
Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...
, but with two extra notes added in, giving a meter count of 10. Michael Katzif considers the track so smoothly played that some people may be unaware of the unusual time signature. "Eleven Four" uses a pattern of five beats, then two sets of three to create the feel of eleven. In the track "Why Phillis" some players stick to time, others adhere to , while others move between the time signatures. " Someday My Prince Will Come" had been previously recorded by the Quartet, juxtaposing triple and quadruple meters in the album '' Dave Digs Disney'', but the track was re-done on this album to further realize the rhythmic possibilities of poly-rhythm, including adding a rhythm of to the mix. "Castilian Blues" and "Castilian Drums" have time signatures of , the latter being unsurprisingly a percussion showpiece. The next four tracks, "Fast Life," "Waltz Limp," "Three's a Crowd," and "Danse Duet" were written for a ballet entitled "Maiden in the Tower." Different characters in the performance have themes with different time signatures, and as they interact the interplay and contrasts of the various rhythms are paraded. The album's final track, as originally issued, is a standard blues in 4/4 time, hence the title "Back to Earth."


Reception

On release, ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' expected the album to be "another smash" because of the "persuasive and exciting performances". Both the monaural and stereo version appeared on the respective ''Billboard'' charts. ''Countdown's'' first appearance on the ''Billboard'' chart was on June 16, 1962. It reached a peak position of No. 24 and remained on the chart for 21 weeks.The Billboard Albums, 6th ed. Joel Whitburn. 2006. Record Research Inc. p. 149. ''The St. Petersburg Times'' called the album "modern jazz at its finest." Louise Stone recommended the album but found it inferior to Brubeck's
Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
recordings and '' Jazz Goes to College''. The album has been cited as a superior example of utilizing "off" time signatures. ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' stated that the album "breaks new ground." ''The Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' called it one of Brubeck's most creative records.


Track listing


CD bonus track


Personnel

* Dave Brubeck – piano * Paul Desmond – alto saxophone * Eugene Wright – bass * Joe Morello – drums


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Countdown-Time in Outer Space 1962 albums Columbia Records albums 1960s instrumental albums Dave Brubeck albums Albums produced by Teo Macero