Across Your Dreams | |
---|---|
Crofut Productions CD, 008-CP | |
Studio album by | |
Released | 1995 |
Studio | Bill Crofut's home |
Genre | Crossover |
Length | 63:18 |
Language | English |
Label | Crofut Productions |
Producer | Bill Crofut and Chris Brubeck |
Across Your Dreams | |
Telarc CD, CD-80467 |
Across Your Dreams: Frederica von Stade Sings Brubeck is a studio crossover album. It exists in two versions. The first, released by Crofut Productions in 1995, is a 63-minute CD performed by von Stade with Edward Arron, Frank Brown, Joel Brown, Chris Brubeck, Dan Brubeck, Bill Crofut and Mark Vinci. [1] The second, released by Telarc in 1996, is a 58-minute CD performed by the same artists and von Stade's elder daughter, Jenny Elkus. [2]
The album is the fruit of a long friendship between the Crofut and Brubeck families. Bill Crofut first got to know the Brubecks when he bought a house near theirs in the 1960s. He employed the young Chris Brubeck as a babysitter. [2]
Crofut met Frederica von Stade in 1973, when his frequent recital partner, the baritone Benjamin Luxon, was appearing with von Stade in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the Glyndebourne Festival. When Crofut and von Stade renewed their acquaintance at the Tanglewood Festival two decades later, it occurred to Crofut that marrying von Stade's classical artistry with the Brubecks' compositions might be an experiment worth trying. [2]
To avoid the stress of renting space in a studio, Crofut set up a makeshift recording facility in the living room of his home in Sandisfield, a town set in the tranquillity of Massachusetts's Berkshire Hills. Working with von Stade and Chris Brubeck in an atmosphere of collegial informality, he spen two years developing an album in which most of the music was notably allusive and personal. [2]
"La paloma azul", for example, was a tribute to a live recording of the piece that Dave Brubeck had made while touring Mexico in 1967. "Across your dreams" was composed by Chris Brubeck when he was a youngster on the threshold of a musical career. "Summer song" was written for Louis Armstrong to perform in The Real Ambassadors , Dave and Iola Brubeck's musical about the State Department's Cultural Exchange programme, a project in which both Crofut and Dave Brubeck were enthusiastic participants. [2]
"Polly", conceived as an instrumental piece, acquired its lyrics from a visiting poet, Alastair Reid, as well as from Crofut, Chris Brubeck and von Stade. (Its title referred to both its polytonal harmony and a daughter of one if Crofut's neighbours.) "Blue rondo à la Turk", written in honour of Dave Brubeck's seventy-fifth birthday, commemorated the visit to Turkey during which he had chanced upon its 9/8 rhythm. "It's a raggy waltz" incorporated a quotation from Der Rosenkavalier that von Stade had inserted as a joke. And Chris Brubeck's lyrics for "In the grace of your room" and "It's lonely at both ends of the road" echoed his own experiences as a father, a husband and a musician on tour. [2]
The album was first released by Crofut's own label. Major changes were made when it was reissued by Telarc. "Koto song", "Tritonis" and "Traveler's blues" were dropped; "Strange meadowlark" and "Heart of winter" were added; and "Blue rondo" and "Across your dreams" were re-recorded, with Bill Crofut's place in the latter being taken by Jenny Elkus, the elder of von Stade's children. (Some supplementary recording was undertaken at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California.) [2]
An account of the making of the album is given in Fred Hall's It's about time: the Dave Brubeck story (1996). [3]
The cover of the first version of the album was designed by Jane McWhorter, and features a painting by Bill Crofut's wife, Susan Crofut. [4] [5] (After Bill Crofut's death, Susan Crofut married his friend and colleague, Benjamin Luxon.) [6] The cover of the second version of the album was designed by Susan Cybulski under the art direction of Anilda Carrasquillo, and features a photograph of von Stade taken by E. J. Camp. [2]
Ken Dryden reviewed the second version of the album for allmusic.com. It was, he wrote, an unusually successful example of a crossover disc. Each of its items was at least in part the work of either Chris Brubeck or his father, Dave, but its star, Frederica von Stade, was no jazz or folk singer but rather a guest from the world of opera. [7]
Von Stade sang on all but one of the album's tracks, and was the sole vocalist on seven of them. [Chris Brubeck had intended her to join him on "Thinking of you thinking of me", but she considered his solo version of the piece to be perfect without her.] In Dave and Iola Brubeck's "Strange meadowlark" she was "captivating", and in the dissonant gorgeousness of "The distance between us" she was "mesmerizing". [7]
There were four tracks on which von Stade sang with one or more of her hosts. She was joined by Bill Crofut in the ballad "Summer song". It was obvious that she had enjoyed herself hugely in sharing the comedy of "It's a raggy waltz" and the polytonal "Polly" with Crofut and Chris Brubeck. In the former, it was she who was responsible for the jeu d'esprit of an interpolated fragment of Der Rosenkavalier. And in one number, "Across your dreams", she duetted with a seeming folk singer who was actually her daughter, Jenny Elkus. [7]
All in all, the album was a "superb" production that had much to recommend it. Bill Crofut was a charming singer, and equally at home in several different kinds of banjo music. Chris Brubeck was a "formidable songwriter", a first class exponent of the trombone and the bass and a pianist whose skill at the keyboard was widely underestimated. Fans of either of them would buy the disc as a matter of course. Von Stade's admirers should allow it a fair hearing too. [7]
In The Advocate, the album was praised as "a true crossover hit". [8] It was also reviewed in Classic CD, [9] Clyde T. McCants's American opera singers and their recordings (2004) [10] and Donald Clarke's The Penguin encyclopedia of popular music (1998). [11]
First version
Second version
The first version of the album was released by Crofut Productions on CD in 1995 (catalogue number 008-CP). [1] The second version of album was released by Telarc on CD in 1996 (catalogue number CD-80467), accompanied by a 16-page booklet containing the lyrics of all the songs, a black and white photograph of von Stade, Bill Crofut and Chris Brubeck and two pages of essays by von Stade, Bill Crofut and Chris Brubeck about how the recording was made. [2]
David Warren Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, considered one of the foremost exponents of cool jazz. Many of his compositions have become jazz standards including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting both his mother's classical training and his own improvisational skills. His music is known for employing unusual time signatures as well as superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities.
Frederica "Flicka" von Stade Gorman is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, the Paris Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburger Festspielhaus, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and Carnegie Hall. Conductors with whom she has worked include Abbado, Bernstein, Boulez, Giulini, Karajan, Levine, Ozawa, Solti and Tilson Thomas. She has also been a prolific and eclectic recording artist, attracting nine Grammy nominations for best classical vocalist, and she has made many appearances on television.
At Carnegie Hall is a jazz live album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. It was recorded at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City on Friday, February 22, 1963. Critic Thom Jurek described it as "one of the great live jazz albums of the 1960s". Critic Jim Santella wrote, "This is timeless music from a classic ensemble. Goosebumps are guaranteed."
Christopher Brubeck is an American musician and composer, both in jazz and classical music. As a musician, he mainly plays electric bass, bass trombone, and piano. The son of noted jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, in 1972 he joined his father and brothers Darius and Daniel in The New Brubeck Quartet. He later formed The Brubeck Brothers Quartet with his brothers.
Take Five Live is a 1962 live album by American jazz singer Carmen McRae with pianist Dave Brubeck, focusing on interpretations of his songs. This was McRae's second album with Brubeck; their first, Tonight Only with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, was released in 1961.
"Conquistador" is a song by the British psychedelic rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it originally appeared on the band's 1967 self-titled debut album. It was later released as a single from the band's 1972 live album Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. It is one of the band's most famous and popular songs and their third Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 16.
The Real Ambassadors is a jazz musical developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Dave and Iola Brubeck, in collaboration with Louis Armstrong and his band. It addressed the Civil Rights Movement, the music business, America's place in the world during the Cold War, the nature of God, and a number of other themes. It was set in a fictional African nation called Talgalla, and its central character was based on Armstrong and his time as a jazz ambassador. It was the first major large scale musical collaboration between Dave and Iola Brubeck and served as a template for their future musical collaborations. Songs from the musical were recorded by Columbia Records and a soundtrack album was released in 1962, just before the show's premiere at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival with an all star cast.
London Flat, London Sharp is an album by Dave Brubeck. It was recorded in 2004 and contains quartet performances of new and previously recorded pieces, most of which were written by Brubeck.
William Crofut III was an American folksinger. During his career he recorded more than 20 albums and CDs in genres ranging from folk, children's songs, jazz, to classical. He also gave concerts in more than fifty countries, and appeared at the White House and Carnegie Hall. His musical influences included Pete Seeger, clarinetist Tony Scott, and pianist Peter Lang. Crofut also experimented with different performance styles and instrumentations, such as performing classical music on the banjo.
Brother, the Great Spirit Made Us All is a 1974 studio album by Dave Brubeck accompanied by his sons Darius, Chris and Dan.
Tonight Only! is a 1961 album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet featuring the singer Carmen McRae.
In Their Own Sweet Way is a 1998 studio album by pianist Dave Brubeck and his quintet. Brubeck was accompanied by his four sons on a recording for the first time.
The Crossing is 2001 studio album by pianist Dave Brubeck and his quartet.
Peter "Madcat" Ruth is an American Grammy Award-winning virtuoso harmonica player, who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. He has been an invited guest performer at many harmonica festivals and workshops in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and has performed with symphony orchestras, as well as on radio and television advertisements and appearances all over the world. His harmonica playing can be heard on over 100 CD's and LP's, a well as instructional DVD's.
Song Recital is a 54-minute studio album of Lieder, mélodies and English and American songs performed by Frederica von Stade with piano accompaniment by Martin Katz. It was released in 1978.
Casa Guidi: Frederica von Stade Sings Dominick Argento is a 78-minute studio album of contemporary classical music performed by von Stade, Burt Hara and the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Eiji Oue. It was released in 2002.
Frederica von Stade sings Mozart & Rossini Arias is a 52-minute studio album of operatic arias performed by von Stade and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Edo de Waart. It was released in 1976. A second, 69-minute version of the album, Frederica von Stade: Haydn, Mozart & Rossini Arias, released by Philips on CD, adds bonus tracks derived from von Stade's contributions to Antal Doráti's recordings of Joseph Haydn's operas La fedeltà premiata and Il mondo della luna. A third, 52-minute version released on SACD by PentaTone in 2005 reverts to the contents of the first version, but presents the music in quadraphonic surround sound.
My Funny Valentine: Frederica von Stade sings Rodgers and Hart is a 69-minute studio album of songs from Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musicals, performed in historically authentic versions by von Stade, Rosemary Ashe, Peta Bartlett, Lynda Richardson, the Ambrosian Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of John McGlinn. It was released in 1990.
Frederica von Stade chante Monteverdi & Cavalli is a 48-minute studio album of arias by Francesco Cavalli and songs and arias by Claudio Monteverdi, performed by von Stade with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Raymond Leppard. It was released in 1985. A second, 54-minute version of the album, released in 1995 as Recital: Frederica von Stade: Cavalli, Monteverdi & Mozart Arias, added two bonus arias taken from Erato's 1978 recording of Mozart's Così fan tutte, on which von Stade sang Dorabella with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg under Alain Lombard.
The Sound of Music is a 70-minute studio album of Richard Rodgers's and Oscar Hammerstein's 1959 musical, starring Frederica von Stade, Håkan Hagegård and Eileen Farrell, performed with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under the direction of Erich Kunzel. It was released in 1988.