Dave Brubeck | Artist
David Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, and one of the foremost exponents of cool jazz. He was born 1920 in Concord, California and died one day before his 92nd birthday. The LA Times noted he "was one of Jazz's first pop stars" whose compositions have become jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke." His most famous album, the 1959 release Time Out, brought Brubeck and his Quartet worldwide fame for timeless renditions of "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "Take Five". Time Out was also the first jazz album in history to sell over a million copies. Brubeck's style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting both his mother's classical training and his own improvisational skills. His music employed unusual time signatures, contrasting rhythms, meters and tonalities. Throughout his career Brubeck led the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which kept its name despite shifting personnel. The most successful lineup was between 1958 and 1968, consisting of Brubeck on piano, saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello. In his lifetime Brubeck released over 60 studio albums and 50 live albums. Some of the many standouts include Time Out (1959), Time Further Out (1961), Countdown: Time in Outer Space (1962), The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall (1963), Jazz Impressions of Japan (1964), Angel Eyes (1965), Time In (1966), All the Things we Are (1976), and the Dave Brubeck Trio and Gerry Mulligan collaboration, Blues Roots (1968). In 1954, he was featured on the cover of Time magazine, only the second jazz musician to be so honoured (the first was Louis Armstrong). Brubeck personally found this acclaim embarrassing, since he considered Duke Ellington more deserving and was convinced he had been chosen on the basis of race. When Ellington knocked on Brubeck's hotel room door to show him the cover, Brubeck responded "It should have been you". During the late 1950s and early 1960s Brubeck canceled several concerts when club owners or hall managers objected to presenting an integrated band (Eugene Wright was African-American). He also canceled a television appearance when he found out the producers intended to keep Wright off-camera. Among the many words of praise he received posthumously, The Daily Telegraph, music journalist Ivan Hewett wrote: "Brubeck didn't have the réclame of some jazz musicians who lead tragic lives. He didn't do drugs or drink. What he had was endless curiosity combined with stubbornness. His work list is astonishing, including oratorios, musicals and concertos, as well as hundreds of jazz compositions. This quiet man of jazz was truly a marvel".
Artist Website: wikipedia/Dave_Brubeck
Featured Albums: Dave Brubeck
Related Artists: Dave Brubeck Quartet, Cal Tjader, Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan
