Dave Brubeck - POINTS ON JAZZ for two pianos - Jan Olesz and Paweł Sopel

The description is from  "NOTES ON THE MUSIC OF POINTS ON JAZZ"  by Dave Brubeck.

POINTS ON JAZZ is a ballet suite which was originally composed for two pianos as a set of rhythmic variations on a theme. Some of the variations are based on jazz concepts, others are derived from the classics.

The history of POINTS ON JAZZ began on a cold day in March, 1958. Travelling through Poland between the cities of Łódź and Poznań, I jotted down a romantic, melancholy theme that seemed to express the feeling of those who sat with me on the tram, staring out at the barren winter landscape. My Quartet was on a State Department sponsored tour behind the Iron Curtain, and our final concert in Poland was scheduled for the following evening in Poznań. That night, at concert intermission, I played the theme for the members of my group, and suggested to our announcer-interpreter friend, Roman Waschko, that as a dedication to the people of Poland we would play the new piece as an encore. To express in same measure our gratitude for the warmth with which we had been received in their country, I called the piece "Dziękuję" the Polish word for "thank you".

The audience responded with a stunned hush, followed by applause mingled with tears. When I returned to the United States in the Spring, I sent copies of the piece back to Poland, and the printed music appeared as the cover of the Polish jazz magazine. Soon the piece was being performed by Polish jazz musicians. "Dziękuję" was often played by my Quartet on our concert tours of the United States and Europe, and finally was recorded in the Quartet album "Jazz lmpressions of Eurasia" (CL 1251).

When Dania Krupska, an American choreographer of Polish descent, heard "Dziękuję" on the album, she immediately wired to ask if I would use the theme to write music for a jazz ballet she was preparing. At our first meeting, she told me the story of the ballet and the variations in rhythms she had outlined for her dancers. As the story unfolded, I improvised variations on the theme "Dziękuję".  These impromptu variations later became the basis for the composition commissioned by the American Ballet Theatre.

I. PRELUDE - 0:40
II. SCHERZO - 5:30
III. BLUES - 7:29
IV. FUGUE - 13:20
V. RAG - 16:40
VI. CHORALE - 19:12
VII. WALTZ - 21:33
VIII. A LA TURK - 24:09

Encore - Anton Arensky Suite for two pianos no. 2 - Waltz 31:42

Nagrania dokonano w ramach III Międzynarodowego festiwalu duetów fortepianowych "Duettissimo" w Krakowie 2019