Perhaps no other jazz artist has used the live album to his advantage more so than Brubeck. His series of college recordings in the early 1950s launched his career in full, and by the time his quartet performed these Mexican concerts in 1967, they were in the twilight of one of jazz's most successful runs. Delivering a repertoire of Mexican pop and folk standards (plus one Latin-tinged original), Brubeck mostly shows his softer melodic side, trading in his more intense, agitated ideas for heightened elements of beauty and swing. His dialogue with Mexican guitarist Chamin Correa on "Sobre Las Olas" is delightfully bright. Of course, Paul Desmond's alto work always tended toward the lighthearted; it's elegantly fragile (over Rabito Agueros's most delicate bongos) on "La Paloma Azul" and wonderfully frisky on "Estrellita". Brubeck and Desmond lay out for the fan favourite "Alla En El Rancho Grande", but Brubeck returns for a furious reading of "La Bamba", propelled by the percussion team of Rabito and Joe Morello. The timeless material, guest musicians, and above all, the fertility of the Brubeck Quartet make this Latin bit a success. --Marc Greilsamer