The American pianist and composer Dave Brubeck (1920-2012) was one of the most successful jazz musicians of the 20th century. With his album “Time Out” and its single “Take Five”, composed by Paul Desmond, he scored one of the biggest hits in the history of this music.

After studying with Darius Milhaud he turned back to jazz and founded first an octet, including Desmond and Cal Tjader, a trio, again with Tjader, and a quartet: the trio plus Desmond. The quartet with Desmond played a successful long-term engagement at the Jazz Club Black Hawk in San Francisco and Brubeck’s recordings began to sell in larger quantities.

This compilation combines the best recordings from the crucial first decade of Brubeck’s career. The great live recordings at college and festival appearances, the series with odd rhythmic meters that started with “Time Out”, his first solo album, the recordings with musical impressions from his worldwide concert tours, and the totally underrated “The Real Ambassadors”, featuring Louis Armstrong, Carmen McRae and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross with a fantastic libretto by Brubeck’s wife Iola.