At Carnegie Hall

At Carnegie Hall is a jazz album by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. It was recorded at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City on February 21, 1963. It was described by critic Richard Palmer as "arguably Dave Brubeck's greatest concert" and a "truly majestic record that should be in every serious collection"; for Don Mather it is "one of the all time great live jazz performances".

Ironically, original expectations for the concert were low. Not only was drummer Joe Morello recovering from a case of the flu at the time, but New York had been suffering from a newspaper strike, and the group was worried that the attendance would be sparse.

The worries were groundless: the hall was full; the group, whose long history together (the newest member, bassist Wright, had joined four years earlier) had by then made them extraordinarily close-knit, turned in an exciting, sparkling performance. It featured a remarkable level of co-ordination among the members of the group, at the same time as they display a relaxed yet powerful virtuosity. The latter was especially displayed in their numerous extended, yet still melodious, solo improvisations.

High points include a particularly swinging rendition of For All We Know, relaxed and assured versions of Brubeck's odd-meter material (especially Three To Get Ready and It's a Raggy Waltz) and a memorable, powerful, and fascinating drum solo on Castilian Drums where Morello works up from pianissimo finger drumming, thru brushwork, to thrillingly exuberant virtuoso stickwork. The highlight of the concert is a remarkable rendition of the Brubeck classic Blue Rondo à la Turk, which starts off at a seemingly impossible pace, yet later builds in intensity as the tempo first slows for some intense solos, and then doubles again for a thrilling climax.

The album is somewhat unusual because it contains the complete concert; the producer, Teo Macero, noted that "not a note or a phrase of the musical part of the program has been deleted". The only change was to move It's a Raggy Waltz, originally heard after Eleven-Four, to a later position; this was done to allow the concert to fit onto two LP records.

Curiously, however, Macero's claim is only 99% true; the original LP cut the ending of Castillian Drums by one beat. This "missing beat" has been restored on the recent CD reissue. Also, some of Brubeck's announcements (and Macero's introduction) from the stage were replaced (possibly because they were clearer in sound), but the originals remain on the reissue.

The liner notes (by George Simon, jazz critic for the New York Herald Tribune) include extensive comments by Brubeck on each selection.