Dave Grusin: Mountain Dance CD Review

[admin]

One of the first all digital (DDD) recordings ever produced, Mountain Dance was originally conceived as a “direct-to-disc†project for JVC that was later released on Dave Grusin's own (GRP) label. This CD remains one of the first (and best) examples of the potential for recording in the digital domain. Great music and great musicians delivering great performances, topped off with outstanding production, make Mountain Dance an all-time favorite of mine. A must purchase if you're a jazz lover with an appreciation for high sound quality.

Discuss "Dave Grusin: Mountain Dance CD Review" here. Read the article.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I own this album... well, I own every one of Dave Grusin's albums, and I also like it a lot, though it is far from my favorite of his works. My favorite would be Now Playing, which is a solo piano album. In addition to being one of the world's most talented composers, he is also an awesome pianist.

At first I thought it was odd to review an album recorded so long ago, but in retrospect it makes sense, to give new coverage to great music from the past, that might go overlooked by younger listeners.

 

[Stanton]

Gene has encouraged me to do some "retro" CD reviews for that reason (and I'm preparing a Spyro Gyra series of CD/LP reviews that will ultimately reach back to the 70's), but I'll share with you my motivation for doing this particular Dave Grusin CD review.

I was on a business trip to San Francisco last December only to discover that Lee Ritenour AND Dave Grusin were playing at the famous Yoshi's Jazz Bar/Club that weekend; since I couldn't pass up the chance (and maybe even the last chance in Grusin's case: he's almost 80 and doesn't really perform much live anymore) to see two of my all-time favorite jazz artists, I extended my trip by a day. Of course the show was great, but even better was I hung around after the show to shake the hand(s) of two music legends (they've won Grammy's AND Oscar's) AND get their autographs (the only reason Grusin came out was there was a keyboard problem that had to be fixed/tested for the next show, and I was right at the stage door when he snuck back out). It just so happens that Grusin played the title track from "Mountain Dance", which was so magical it inspired me to listen to my album copy and revisit the whole story behind it, which ultimately led to me buying the CD (which for anyone who knows me knows that doubling up on media types is not something I normally do). Of course now the CD rip has (at least temporarily) made it onto my iPhone!

...and now you know the rest of the story!

 

[Irvrobinson]

...and now you know the rest of the story!

And I miss listening to Paul Harvey too.