Jazz Goes to College by The Dave Brubeck Quartet (1954)

This album documents the college tour of the most famous quartet in jazz. It was conceived by Brubeck's wife Iola as a way to introduce jazz to a new audience and they would go on to play as many as 90 colleges in a four-month period. Most of the recordings are from University of Michigan though track two and three are from UCincinnati and Oberlin respectively.

The album is spectacular — everything that isn't absolutely perfect is perfect in its imperfection. This is one of the last moments to hear Brubeck as his most soulful self before ironing out all that made him a mortal human. Some of his most memorable work and due largely to the overwhelming popularity of his other, studio recordings — one that continually flies under the radar.

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