| Paper Moon | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | The Dave Brubeck Quartet |
| Cover: | Better paper moon.jpg |
| Released: | 1982 [1] |
| Recorded: | September 1981 at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California, USA[2] |
| Genre: | Cool jazz, West Coast jazz |
| Length: | 41:50 (international edition) |
| Label: | Concord Jazz |
| Producer: | Russell Gloyd |
| Prev Title: | Tritonis |
| Prev Year: | 1980 |
| Next Title: | In Montreux, 1982 |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
Paper Moon was recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet at Coast Recorders in San Francisco, California. The record was released in September 1981 by Concord Jazz, a subsidiary of Concord Records. It was produced by Russell Gloyd and engineered by Ron Davis and Phil Edwards. On this recording, pianist Dave Brubeck is accompanied by his son Chris Brubeck on the bass and bass trombone, with Jerry Bergonzi on tenor sax and Randy Jones on the drums. Paper Moon is Brubeck's third of three Concord recordings featuring this permutation of the Dave Brubeck Quartet; jazz commentator Scott Yanow referred to the album as the "most rewarding of the trio".
Stylistically, Paper Moon is typical Dave Brubeck cool jazz, varying only slightly from past Brubeck recordings. The tracks on this album are less hurried than those on Time Out, Brubeck's best known recording. Paper Moon is a highly accessible recording; it flows seamlessly with the bass and drums providing a steady accompaniment.
The title track, "It’s Only a Paper Moon", begins with Dave Brubeck's piano, backed by the drummer's fast but light rhythm and the bassist's syncopated plucking. About forty seconds into the track the piano switches to stride style, and at 0:52 the saxophone enters on the melody as Dave Brubeck comps. At 2:38 Dave Brubeck begins his piano solo using block chords. His solo continues until 3:31 when bass player Chris Brubeck, now on bass trombone, takes over. His improvisation dips into the lowest registers, giving the piece a fuller and rougher tone. His solo ends the piece with a repeat of the chorus.