More than any other improvising artist during the past 45 years,the pianist/composer/bandleader Dave Brubeck (b. 1920) has expanded the rhythmic boundaries of Jazz, while creating a body of work that is notable for its consistent levels of melodic content and harmonic invention. Recorded between 1959 and 1965, this five-disc set captures the Brubeck quartet, featuring the floating alto saxophone of Paul Desmond (composer of the million-selling "Take Five"), at the peak of their powers. In addition to such Brubeck signatures as "It's a Raggy Waltz," "Blue Rondo a la Turk," "Unsquare Dance" and, of course, "Take Five," For All Time's repertoire also presents an improvisation from one of Dave's liturgical pieces, a variation of the folk song "Frankie and Johnny," and Brubeck's work for quartet and 45-piece orchestra, "Elementals."
