Buried Treasures by Dave Brubeck Quartet

Buried Treasures - Recorded Live in Mexico City

Seven tracks, dormant since recorded live in Mexico City in 1967, spotlight the Brubeck Quartet in fine form. Average track time is about eight minutes, which means that the band stretches substantially more than on studio LPs. That's especially welcome from alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, whose subtle playing was sometimes lost in the context of shorter material, but who radiates warmth and fascination at length here. On Brubeck's "Koto Song," for instance, his lovely, restrained approach to the Asian-tinged melodic material is stunning; can't say the same for Brubeck's rather drippy faux Orientalist solo on the same tune, though, nor for his playing in various other spots, which often drags things down. "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a corny choice, and it's played as such--probably a ploy to please middlebrow palettes--but again Desmond saves it from dreardom; the obligatory "Take Five" is included, as is "Forty Days," a not-dissimilar excerpt from a Brubeck oratorio. --John Corbett