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Dave Brubeck
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(b Concord, ca, 6 Dec 1920). American jazz composer and pianist. He led a 12-piece band while studying music at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and also studied with Milhaud, at Mills College, Oakland, where he founded the experimental Jazz Workshop Ensemble. In 1949 he formed the Dave Brubeck Trio with Cal Tjader (drums and vibraphone) and Norman Bates (double bass); this became a quartet in 1951 with the addition of Paul Desmond (alto saxophone). Brubeck experimented with unusual time signatures and wrote several large-scale compositions.
| Biography: Dave Brubeck |
Dave Brubeck (born 1920), who is considered the most widely acclaimed jazz musician of his time period, has been described as everything from mystical to methodical.
According to Robert Rice of the New Yorker, the combo led by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck during the 1950s and 1960s was "the world's best-paid, most widely travelled, most highly publicized, and most popular small group." While Brubeck can be considered the world's most widely acclaimed musician of his period, he is also quite possibly its most criticized, having been described as everything from mystical to methodical. Stanley H. White wrote in Jazz Journal in 1958 that Brubeck's "ability to improvise fluently on almost any given theme, and his ability to swing with both drive and imagination make him a jazz musician of singular merit"; two years later Joe Goldberg declared in Jazz Review "that jazz is not [Brubeck's] natural form of expression, but he is determined to play jazz, as if a man who knew five hundred words of French were to attempt a novel in that language."
Perhaps Rice's statement on the importance of Brubeck's music, that "it is impossible to make a comment - pro, con, or merely factual - that would not be disputed by a majority of the people who habitually play, listen to, or write about jazz," sums up the critical commentary that surrounds Brubeck's body of work. What can be asserted is that Brubeck, beyond the praise and fault-finding, beyond even the unexamined end result of his music, has always been an intelligent musician thoughtful of the process, an artist constantly seeking a new and justifiable means of creative expression.
"Perhaps the most significant contribution made by the Brubeck Quartet has been the integration of jazz and classical elements," Al Zeiger noted in Metronome. But Brubeck's precarious marriage of these two divergent styles has frequently offended stylists and aficionados of the pure jazz form. "He cannot always maintain the balance between jazz and classical music without forsaking an element vital to either one form," White appraised in Jazz Journal. More often than not, Brubeck's improvisations slip from jazz into classical colors, bringing up "a little canon a la Bach or some dissonant counterpoint a la Bartok or even a thrashing crisis a la Beethoven," a reporter for Time pointed out.
Brubeck's tendency toward peppering his jazz speech with classical tones is rooted in his childhood. His mother, a classically trained piano teacher, was a believer in prenatal influence. "She practiced all through her pregnancies," Brubeck related, according to Len Lyons in The Great Jazz Pianists: Speaking of Their Lives and Music. "When we were born, we were all put near the piano to listen to her practicing. I heard Chopin, Liszt, Mozart, and Bach from infancy." While his brothers took to classical training, Brubeck rebelled against his mother's teachings, preferring instead to make up his own songs. "There can be little doubt that his original interest in jazz arose as a protest against the idea of playing notes that were written on paper instead of the notes that were in his head," Rice wrote in the New Yorker. It is noteworthy that Brubeck did not learn to read music until later in life. Because of his acute musical ear, he was able to fool his mother by reproducing any piece after listening to it once or twice.
Despite Brubeck's early protestations, classical music informed his subsequent musical approach. He attested to this in an article he wrote for Down Beat at the beginning of his career: "Because the jazz musician creates music, interprets music as he hears it, it is natural that his improvised compositions should reflect every kind of music to which he has been exposed." Further exposure to the classical realm came through studies with the French composer Darius Milhaud.
After graduating with a degree in music and serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Brubeck studied composition under Milhaud at Mills College for three years. From this classical instructor, Brubeck learned one important point about composing, as he explained to Michael Bourne in Down Beat: "One lesson was never give up jazz. And he told me I would be a composer on my own terms…. He said, 'If you don't reflect your own country and use the jazz idiom, you'll never be a part of this culture.' And, of course, Copland used it, Bernstein used it. Most of the important American composers have used jazz." But it seems that jazz was just a tool used to build his compositions, for in addition, Brubeck learned from Milhaud the usage of modern European polytonal harmonies on which he was to base his style.
After his apprenticeship under Milhaud, Brubeck sought a group sound for his compositions in 1949, first with an octet, then pared down to a trio. He also helped form Fantasy Records, the label on which he first recorded. But his definition of jazz - "an improvised musical expression based on European harmony and African rhythms," as he described it in Down Beat - was not fulfilled until Brubeck added alto saxophonist Paul Desmond to the group in 1951. "Desmond's yearning lyricism proved the perfect foil for Brubeck's percussive approach," Amy Duncan pointed out in the Christian Science Monitor. Another indication of Brubeck's keen judgement was his decision at the time to forego the night club circuit in favor of college campuses. The 1954 recording of one such tour, Jazz Goes to College, was the quartet's breakthrough, selling over a million copies and earning Brubeck the cover of Time's November 8, 1954, issue.
In Time's accompanying profile Brubeck was described as "a wigging cat with a far-out wail" who produces "some of the strangest and loveliest music ever played since jazz was born." His music and approach, which the article proclaimed heralded a new jazz age, "is neither chaotic nor abandoned. It evokes neither swinging hips nor hip flasks. It goes to the head and the heart more than to the feet."
But accompanying the rising acclaim was also rising derision. The debate over the purpose and sound of jazz divided the critical camps. Metronome's Zeiger lauded Brubeck's technique: "his texture has a refinement and lightness to it which, at times, is characteristic of the grace and elegance of Mozart"; but Jazz Journal's White stressed that "the unavoidable lack of beat, the absence of the jazz spirit - these indispensable jazz attributes - bring defeat to an otherwise highly intelligent and musicianly artist." Dave Gelly, writing in his book The Giants of Jazz, summed up the reasons for critical disapproval: "Brubeck's studious manner, his copious references to Milhaud and Hindemith in press interviews, his little lectures at concerts on how very complicated and demanding the next number was going to be, his quotations from Bach, the galloping pomposity of his piano solos." The public, however, continued its almost unanimous approval of the quartet. "The fact that it is admired by the public may explain the fact that it is scorned by many of the adepts," Rice assessed in the New Yorker. "'Popular' is an extreme [negative] in certain jazz circles."
With the substitution of Joe Morello on drums and Eugene Wright on bass in the late 1950s, Brubeck formed the classic Dave Brubeck Quartet, which performed unchanged for almost ten years. Len Lyons and Don Perlo, in their book Jazz Portraits: The Lives and Music of the Jazz Masters, described the basic elements of the quartet's music: "Fuguelike interplay among the instruments; clear (sometimes simplistic) thematic statements; excursions into polytonality; and a tight group sound." This definitive Dave Brubeck Quartet sound also bore the mark of irregular time signatures. Brubeck's belief that "new and complex rhythm patterns, more akin to the African parents, is the natural direction for jazz to develop," as he wrote in Down Beat, was fully realized on his famous 1959 recording, Time Out, which featured the hits "Take Five" (in 5/4 meter) and "Blue Rondo a la Turk" (in 9/8 meter). "Take Five" was so well received that it even made the popular music charts, unheard of for an instrumental jazz recording. Time Out went on to become the first instrumental jazz album certified gold.
The quartet continued to record and tour successfully until 1967, when Brubeck decided to disband the group to fully concentrate on composing sacred music and jazz-influenced symphonic works. Among his compositions is the cantata Truth Is Fallen, commissioned in 1971 and dedicated "to the slain students of Kent State University and Jackson State, and all other innocent victims caught in the cross fire between repression and rebellion," Leonard Feather noted in his book The Pleasures of Jazz.
But Brubeck couldn't stay away from the quartet format and the improvisational element of jazz. "Jazz stands for freedom," he told Duncan of the Christian Science Monitor. "It's supposed to be the voice of freedom: Get out there and improvise, and take chances." Since the early 1970s, Brubeck has recorded and toured with his quartet composed of various musicians, including a combination of his sons, and labeled Two Generations of Brubeck. Although not quite the force he was in the 1950s and 1960s, Brubeck continued to produce vital music, as Stereo Review's Chris Albertson attested to in a review of Brubeck's 1986 offering, Reflections, stating that "the album only partly reflects the past: the present is also strongly represented, and the blend is good…. There was always a lyrical side to Brubeck, and that - as several selections here demonstrate - is an aspect of his music that time has enhanced."
For over four decades Dave Brubeck has created music, both written and unwritten. He led one of the most successful quartets in the history of jazz without pandering to either popular or critical dictates, remaining "a paragon of obstinacy, and [playing], stolidly or not, as he pleases," Rice observed in the New Yorker. He has persisted in seeking a voice for his creations with an informed intellectual purpose. "Far from being a born jazz man, Brubeck is a creative artist, an artist who uses jazz as his means of self-impression and as a source of unbounded inspiration," wrote Jazz Journal' s White, adding that "the fundamental reason for Brubeck's failure to convince the jazz masses is simply that he attempted to bring something new into jazz."
Further Reading
Feather, Leonard, The Pleasures of Jazz, Horizon, 1976.
Gelly, Dave, The Giants of Jazz, Schirmer Books, 1986.
Lyons, Len, The Great Jazz Pianists: Speaking of Their Lives and Music, Morrow, 1983.
Lyons, Len and Don Perlo, Jazz Portraits: The Lives and Music of the Jazz Masters, Morrow, 1989.
Christian Science Monitor, January 18, 1989; August 17, 1989.
Down Beat, January 27, 1950; February 10, 1950; February 6, 1957; October, 1982; March, 1991.
Jazz Journal, February 1958.
Jazz Journal International, December 1988.
Jazz Review, February 1960.
Metronome, August 1955.
New Yorker, June 3, 1961.
New York Times, July 1, 1990.
Stereo Review, February 1980; November 1986.
Time, November 8, 1954.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Dave Brubeck |
Brubeck, Dave (David Warren Brubeck) (brū'bĕk), 1920-, American pianist and composer, b. Concord, Calif. Brubeck began studying piano at the age of four and later studied composition with Milhaud and Schoenberg. In 1951 he organized a jazz quartet with alto saxaphonist Paul Desmond. His music, influenced by modern classical composers, is distinguished by complex harmony and the use of meters not typical in jazz.
| Artist: Dave Brubeck |
Similar Artists:
The Modern Jazz Quartet,
Vince Guaraldi,
Paul Desmond,
Sir Roland Hanna,
Tommy Flanagan,
Bill Evans,
André Previn,
Jim Hall
Influenced By:
Followers:
Eric Mintel,
Carsten Dahl,
Shirley Eikhard,
Jirí Stivín ,
Tomasz Stanko,
Eldar,
Mauricio Gueiros ,
Gemini Soul ,
Neal Creque,
Charlie Rich,
Deardorf Peterson Group,
Blue Rondo a la Turk,
Lemon James,
E.J. Decker ,
Otis Taylor
Performed Songs By:
Worked With:
Formal Connection With:
Relationship With:
- Born: December 06, 1920, Concord, CA
- Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Piano, Composer, Leader
- Representative Albums: "Time Out," "Jazz Goes to College," "On Campus"
- Representative Songs: "Take Five," "The Duke," "Kathy's Waltz"
Biography
Dave Brubeck has long served as proof that creative jazz and popular success can go together. Although critics who had championed him when he was unknown seemed to scorn him when the Dave Brubeck Quartet became a surprise success, in reality Brubeck never watered down or altered his music in order to gain a wide audience. Creative booking (being one of the first groups to play regularly on college campuses) and a bit of luck resulted in great popularity, and Dave Brubeck remains one of the few household names in jazz.From nearly the start, Brubeck enjoyed utilizing poly-rhythms and poly-tonality (playing in two keys at once). He had classical training from his mother, but fooled her for a long period by memorizing his lessons and not learning to read music. He studied music at the College of the Pacific during 1938-1942. Brubeck led a service band in General Patton's Army during World War II and then, in 1946, he started studying at Mills College with the classical composer Darius Milhaud, who encouraged his students to play jazz. During 1946-1949, Brubeck led a group mostly consisting of fellow classmates, and they recorded as the Dave Brubeck Octet; their music (released on Fantasy in 1951) still sounds advanced today, with complex time signatures and some poly-tonality. The octet was too radical to get much work, so Brubeck formed a trio with drummer Cal Tjader (who doubled on vibes) and bassist Ron Crotty. The trio's Fantasy recordings of 1949-1951 were quite popular in the Bay Area, but the group came to an end when Brubeck hurt his back during a serious swimming accident and was put out of action for months.
Upon his return in 1951, Brubeck was persuaded by altoist Paul Desmond to make the group a quartet. Within two years, the band had become surprisingly popular. Desmond's cool-toned alto and quick wit fit in well with Brubeck's often heavy chording and experimental playing; both Brubeck and Desmond had original sounds and styles that owed little to their predecessors. Joe Dodge was the band's early drummer but, after he tired of the road, the virtuosic Joe Morello took his place in 1956; while the revolving bass chair finally settled on Eugene Wright in 1958. By then, Brubeck had followed his popular series of Fantasy recordings with some big sellers on Columbia, and had appeared on the cover of Time (1954). The huge success of Paul Desmond's "Take Five" (1960) was followed by many songs played in "odd" time signatures such as 7/4 and 9/8; the high-quality soloing of the musicians kept these experiments from sounding like gimmicks. Dave and Iola Brubeck (his wife and lyricist) put together an anti-racism show featuring Louis Armstrong (The Real Ambassadors) which was recorded, but its only public appearance was at the Monterey Jazz Festival in the early '60s.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet constantly traveled around the world until its breakup in 1967. After some time off, during which he wrote religious works, Brubeck came back the following year with a new quartet featuring Gerry Mulligan, although he would have several reunions with Desmond before the altoist's death in 1977. Brubeck joined with his sons Darius (keyboards), Chris (electric bass and bass trombone), and Danny (drums) in Two Generations of Brubeck in the 1970s. In the early '80s, tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi was in the Brubeck Quartet, and beginning in the mid-'80s, clarinetist Bill Smith (who was in the original octet) alternated with altoist Bobby Militello.
There is no shortage of Dave Brubeck records currently available, practically everything he cut for Fantasy, Columbia, Concord, and Telarc are easy to locate. Brubeck, whose compositions "In Your Own Sweet Way," "The Duke," and "Blue Rondo a la Turk" have become standards, remained very busy (despite some bouts of bad health) into the 2000s. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
| Discography: Dave Brubeck |
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| Wikipedia: Dave Brubeck |
| David Warren Brubeck | |
|---|---|
 Dave Brubeck in March 2008
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Warren Brubeck |
| Born | December 6, 1920 |
| Origin | Concord, California, United States |
| Genres | Jazz Cool jazz West Coast jazz Third stream |
| Occupations | Pianist Composer Bandleader |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Associated acts | Dave Brubeck Quartet |
David Warren Brubeck (born December 6, 1920[1]), known as Dave Brubeck, is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills. His music is known for employing unusual time signatures, and superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities.
His long-time musical partner, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, wrote the Dave Brubeck Quartet's best remembered piece, "Take Five",[1] which is in 5/4 time and has endured as a jazz classic. Brubeck experimented with time signatures throughout his career, recording "Pick Up Sticks" in 6/4, "Unsquare Dance" in 7/4, and "Blue Rondo à la Turk" in 9/8. He is also a respected composer of orchestral and sacred music, and wrote soundtracks for television such as Mr. Broadway and the animated miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown.
Contents |
Early life and career
Brubeck was born in Concord, California.[1] His father was a cattle rancher, and his mother, who had studied piano in England and intended to become a concert pianist, taught piano for extra money. Brubeck originally did not intend to become a musician (his two older brothers, Henry and Howard, were already on that track), but took lessons from his mother. He could not read sheet music during these early lessons, attributing this difficulty to poor eyesight, but "faked" his way through, well enough that this deficiency went mostly unnoticed.[2]
Intending to work with his father on their ranch, Brubeck entered the College of the Pacific (now the University of the Pacific) studying veterinary science, but transferred on the urging of the head of zoology, Dr Arnold, who told him "Brubeck, your mind's not here. It's across the lawn in the conservatory. Please go there. Stop wasting my time and yours."[3] Later, Brubeck was nearly expelled when one of his professors discovered that he could not read music. Several of his professors came forward, arguing that his ability with counterpoint and harmony more than compensated. The college was still afraid that it would cause a scandal, and only agreed to let Brubeck graduate once he promised never to teach piano.[4]
After graduating in 1942, Brubeck was drafted into the army and served overseas in George Patton's Third Army. He was spared from service in the Battle of the Bulge when he volunteered to play piano at a Red Cross show; he was such a hit he was ordered to form a band. Thus he created one of the armed forces' first integrated bands, "The Wolfpack".[4] While serving, Brubeck met Paul Desmond in early 1944.[5] He returned to college after serving nearly four years in the army, this time attending Mills College and studying under Darius Milhaud, who encouraged him to study fugue and orchestration, but not classical piano.
After completing his studies under Milhaud, Brubeck helped to establish Berkeley, California's Fantasy Records. He worked with an octet (the recording bears his name only because Brubeck was the best-known member at the time), and a trio including Cal Tjader and Ron Crotty. Highly experimental, the group made few recordings and got even fewer paying jobs. The trio was often joined by Paul Desmond on the bandstand, at Desmond's prodding.[6]
Quartet era
Following a near-fatal swimming accident which incapacitated him for several months, Brubeck organized The Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951, with Desmond on saxophone. They took up a long residency at San Francisco's Black Hawk nightclub and gained great popularity touring college campuses, recording a series of albums with such titles as Jazz at Oberlin (1953), Jazz at College of the Pacific (1953), and Brubeck's debut on Columbia Records, Jazz Goes to College (1954). In that same year, he was featured on the cover of Time magazine, the second jazz musician to be so honored (the first was Louis Armstrong on February 21, 1949.[7])
Early bassists for the group included Ron Crotty, Bob Bates, and Bob's brother Norman Bates; Lloyd Davis and Joe Dodge held the drum chair. In 1956, Brubeck hired Joe Morello, who had been working with Marian McPartland; Morello's presence made possible the rhythmic experiments that were to come. In 1958 Eugene Wright joined for the group's U.S. State Department tour of Europe and Asia; Wright would become a permanent member in 1959, making the "classic" Quartet's personnel complete.
Wright is African-American; in the late 1950s and early 1960s Brubeck canceled several concerts because the club owners or hall managers resisted the idea of an integrated band on their stages. He also canceled a television appearance when he found out that the producers intended to keep Wright off-camera.
In 1959, the Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded Time Out, an album their label was enthusiastic about but nonetheless hesitant to release. Featuring the album art of Neil Fujita, the album contained all original compositions, almost none of which were in common time. Nonetheless, on the strength of these unusual time signatures (the album included "Take Five", "Blue Rondo à la Turk", and "Three To Get Ready"), it quickly went platinum.
At this time, Dave Brubeck and his wife Iola were developing a jazz musical, The Real Ambassadors, based in part on experiences of themselves and colleagues during foreign tours on behalf of the U.S. State Department. The soundtrack album, which featured Louis Armstrong, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, and Carmen McRae was recorded in 1961; the musical itself was performed at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival.
Time Out was followed by several albums with a similar approach, including Time Further Out: Miro Reflections (1961), Countdown: Time in Outer Space (dedicated to John Glenn) (1962), Time Changes (1963), and Time In (1965). These albums were also known for using contemporary paintings as cover art, featuring the work of Joan Miró on Time Further Out, Franz Kline on Time in Outer Space, and Sam Francis on Time Changes, though the fifth album, Time In, did not feature an artist's work.
A high point for the group was their 1963 live album At Carnegie Hall, described by critic Richard Palmer as "arguably Dave Brubeck's greatest concert".
Apart from the Jazz Goes to College and the 'Time' series, Brubeck recorded several records featuring his compositions based on the group's travels, and the local music they encountered. Jazz Impressions of the USA (1956, Morello's debut with the group), Jazz Impressions of Eurasia (1958), Jazz Impressions of Japan (1964), and Jazz Impressions of New York (1964) are less well-known albums, but all are brilliant examples of the quartet's studio work, and they produced Brubeck standards such as "Summer Song," "Brandenburg Gate," "Koto Song," and "Theme From Mr. Broadway." (Brubeck wrote, and the Quartet performed, the theme song for the Craig Stevens CBS drama series; the music from the series became material for the "New York" album.)
In 1961 Dave Brubeck appeared in a few scenes of the British Jazz/Beat film All Night Long, which starred Patrick McGoohan and Richard Attenborough. Brubeck merely plays himself, and his piano playing includes closeups of his fingerings. Brubeck performs "It's a Raggy Waltz" from the Time Further Out album and duets briefly with bassist Charles Mingus in "Non-Sectarian Blues".
In the early 1960s Dave Brubeck was the program director of WJZZ-FM radio (now WEZN). He achieved his vision of an all jazz format radio station along with his friend and neighbor John E. Metts, one of the first African Americans in senior radio management.
The final studio album for Columbia by the Desmond/Wright/Morello quartet was Anything Goes (1966) featuring Cole Porter songs. A few concert recordings followed, and The Last Time We Saw Paris (1967) was the "Classic" Quartet's swansong.
Later career
Brubeck's disbanding of the Quartet at the end of 1967 allowed him more time to compose the longer, extended orchestral and choral works that were occupying his attention. Another reason for the break up was Brubeck's desire to spend more time with his young family, when America was affected by political turmoil. February 1968 saw the premiere of The Light in the Wilderness for baritone solo, choir, organ, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel, and Brubeck improvising on certain themes within. The piece is an oratorio on Jesus's teachings. The next year, Brubeck produced The Gates of Justice, a cantata mixing Biblical scripture with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..
Further works followed, including the 1971 cantata Truth Is Fallen, dedicated to the memory of the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings of May 1970. The work was premiered in Midland, Michigan on May 1, 1971 and released on LP in 1972.[8]
Brubeck's jazz playing did not cease. He was quickly prevailed upon by Newport Jazz Festival producer George Wein to tour with Gerry Mulligan. A Brubeck "Trio" was soon formed: Jack Six on bass, and Alan Dawson on drums. From 1968 until 1973, The Dave Brubeck Trio featuring Gerry Mulligan performed extensively, releasing several concert albums (including one with guest Desmond) and one studio album.
In 1973 Brubeck formed another group with three of his sons, Darius on keyboards, Dan on drums, and Chris on electric bass or bass trombone. This group often included Perry Robinson, clarinet, and Jerry Bergonzi, saxophone. Brubeck would record and tour with this "Two Generations of Brubeck" group until 1978.
Brubeck and Desmond recorded an album of duets in 1975, then the Classic Quartet reassembled for a 25th anniversary reunion in 1976. Desmond died in 1977.
Brubeck's Quartet has remained vital, a primary creative outlet for the pianist. Bergonzi became a member and remained with the band until 1982. This version featured Chris Brubeck, and Randy Jones on drums. Jones joined in 1979 and is still with the band after almost 30 years. Replacing Bergonzi was Brubeck's old friend Bill Smith, who knew Brubeck at Mills College and was a member of Brubeck's Octet in the late 1940s; he remained in the group through the '80s and recorded with it off and on until 1995. The best recording of this Smith/Brubeck/Jones Quartet is probably their remarkable Moscow Night concert of 1987, released on Concord Records.
The Quartet currently includes alto saxophonist and flautist Bobby Militello, bassist Michael Moore (who replaced Alec Dankworth), and Randy Jones.
In 1994, Brubeck was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
Brubeck continues to write new works, including orchestral and ballet scores. He has worked extensively with the London Symphony Orchestra and tours about 80 cities each year.[citation needed]
At the 49th Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2006, Brubeck debuted his commissioned work, Cannery Row Suite, a jazz opera drawn from the characters in John Steinbeck's American classic writing about Monterey's roots as a sardine fishing and packing town. Iola (née Whitlock), Brubeck's wife since 1942, is his personal secretary, manager and lyricist, and co-authored the Cannery Row Suite with Dave. His performance of this as well as a number of jazz standards with his current quartet was the buzz of the Festival (an event Brubeck helped launch in 1958).
On April 3, 2009, Brubeck was scheduled to play the album Time Out in its entirety to commemorate its 50th anniversary at the annual Brubeck Festival, but was not able to due to being hospitalized with a viral infection. His son Darius filled in on piano with the rest of his quartet.[9]
Personal life
Four of Brubeck's six children are professional musicians. Darius, the eldest, is an accomplished pianist, producer, educator and performer. Dan is a renowned percussionist, Chris is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. Matthew, the youngest, is a versatile cellist with an impressive list of composing and performance credits. Brubeck's children often join with him in concerts and in the recording studio.
Brubeck believed the casualties of World War II contradicted the Ten Commandments, and the war evoked a spiritual awakening. He became a Catholic in 1980, shortly after completing the Mass To Hope which had been commissioned by Ed Murray, editor of the national Catholic weekly Our Sunday Visitor. Although he had spiritual interests before then he said, "I didn't convert to Catholicism, because I wasn't anything to convert from. I just joined the Catholic Church."[10] In 1996, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2006, Brubeck was awarded the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious[citation needed] honor given to American Catholics, during the University's commencement. He performed "Travellin' Blues" for the graduating class of 2006.
Brubeck founded the Brubeck Institute with his wife at their alma mater, the University of the Pacific in 2000. What began as a special archive, consisting of the personal document collection of the Brubecks has since expanded to provide fellowships and educational opportunities in jazz for students,also leading to having one of the main streets the school resides on named in his honor, Dave Brubeck Way.[11]
On April 8, 2008 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented Brubeck with a "Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy" for offering an American "vision of hope, opportunity and freedom" through his music.[12] "As a little girl I grew up on the sounds of Dave Brubeck because my dad was your biggest fan," said Rice.[13] The State Department said in a statement that "as a pianist, composer, cultural emissary and educator, Dave Brubeck's life's work exemplifies the best of America's cultural diplomacy."[12] At the ceremony Brubeck played a brief recital for the audience at the State Department.[12] "I want to thank all of you because this honor is something that I never expected. Now I am going to play a cold piano with cold hands," Brubeck stated.[12]
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced on May 28, 2008 that Brubeck will be inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. The induction ceremony occurred December 10, and he was inducted alongside eleven other legendary Californians.[citation needed]
In September 2009, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Brubeck as an Honoree for exhibiting excellence in performance arts. The Kennedy Center Honors Gala will take place on Sunday, December 6 and will be broadcast nationwide on CBS on December 29 at 9:00 p.m.
On September 20, 2009, at Monterey Jazz Festival, Brubeck was awarded an honorary Ph.D. from Berklee College of Music.
Humanitarian causes
Brubeck has become a supporter of the Jazz Foundation of America in their mission to save the homes and the lives of elderly jazz and blues musicians including musicians that survived Hurricane Katrina.[14] Brubeck supported the Jazz Foundation by performing in their annual benefit concert "A Great Night in Harlem" in 2006 [15]
Discography
- Countdown Time in Outer Space (1962) Columbia Records
- Brubeck Trio with Cal Tjader, Volume 1 (1949)
- Brubeck Trio with Cal Tjader, Volume 2 (1949)
- The Essential Dave Brubeck (Set Recording) (1950)
- Brubeck/Desmond (1951)
- Stardust (1951)
- Dave Brubeck Quartet (1951)
- Jazz at the Blackhawk (1952)
- Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond (1952)
- Jazz at Storyville (live) (1952)
- featuring Paul Desmond In Concert (live) (1953)
- Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond at Wilshire Ebell (1953)
- Two Knights at the Black Hawk (1953)
- Jazz at the College of the Pacific (1953) Fantasy Records
- Jazz at Oberlin (1953) Fantasy Records
- Jazz Goes to College (1954) Columbia Records
- Dave Brubeck at Storyville 1954 (live) (1954)
- Brubeck Time (1954)
- Jazz: Red Hot And Cool (1955)
- Jazz Impressions of the U.S.A. (1956)
- Plays and Plays and ... (1957)
- Reunion (1957)
- Jazz goes to Junior College (live) (1957)
- Dave Digs Disney (1957)
- Dave Brubeck Plays Solo (1958)
- Gone with the Wind (1959)
- Time Out (1959) Columbia Records/Legacy (RIAA: Platinum)
- Tonight Only (1960)
- Southern Scene (1960)
- Take Five Live (1961)
- Time Further Out (1961) Columbia Records/Legacy
- Angel Eyes (1962)
- The Real Ambassadors (1962)
- At Carnegie Hall (1963)
- Brandenburg Gate: Revisited (1963) Columbia Records
- Dave Brubeck in Berlin (1964)
- Jazz Impressions of Japan (1964) Columbia Records/Legacy
- Time In (1966) Columbia Records
- Jackpot (1966, live in Las Vegas) Columbia Records
- Adventures in Time (1968) Columbia Records
- DBQ 25th Anniversary Reunion (1976) A&M Records
- Tritonis (1980)
- Paper Moon (1982)
- Vocal Encounters (2001) Sony Records
Awards
- Connecticut Arts Award (1987)
- National Medal of Arts, National Endowment for the Arts (1994)
- DownBeat Hall of Fame (1994)
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1996)
- Doctorate honoris causa University of Fribourg, Switzerland (2004)
- Laetare Medal (University of Notre Dame) (2006)
- BBC Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award (2007)
- Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy (2008)[12]
- Inducted into California Hall of Fame (2008)
References
- ^ a b c Reception honors Concord native son, jazz great Dave Brubeck, ci.concord.ca.us, retrieved on 2007-01-15
- ^ An Hour With Dave Brubeck, WNYC
- ^ It's About Time: The Dave Brubeck Story, by Fred M. Hall.
- ^ a b Rediscovering Dave Brubeck, PBS
- ^ Liner notes to the album "25th Anniversary Reunion", by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
- ^ Down Beat artists profile
- ^ Time magazine cover: Louis Armstrong - 21 February 1949
- ^ Composers Datebook: 5/01/02-5/04/02
- ^ "Ailing Jazz Icon Brubeck Cancels Festival Appearance", contactmusic.com, 4 March 2009.
- ^ Rediscovering Dave Brubeck, PBS
- ^ Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony - University of the Pacific
- ^ a b c d e "Jazz great Brubeck wins US public diplomacy award", AFP, 8 April 2008.
- ^ "Whatever Happened to Cultural Diplomacy?", All About Jazz, April 19, 2008.
- ^ allaboutjazz.com. 2009-02-11. URL: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=18163. (Archived by allaboutjazz.com at http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=18163)
- ^ blogspot.com. 2009-02-11. URL: http://jbspins.blogspot.com/2008/05/jfa-delivers-another-great-night.html. (Archived by blogspot.com at http://jbspins.blogspot.com/2008/05/jfa-delivers-another-great-night.html)
- Photographs, documents, and video clips of oral history interviews from the Brubeck Collection are available at the University of the Pacific Library's Digital Collections.
External links
- Dave Brubeck.com
- 2004 WNYC Interview with Brubeck
- Dave Brubeck Collection at the University of the Pacific Library's Holt-Atherton Special Collections
- Rediscovering Dave Brubeck, PBS, 16 December 2001 documentary
- Dave Brubeck Discography Project
- The Brubeck Institute
- Biography, photos, CDs and concert review of Dave Brubeck by cosmopolis.ch
- Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks
- Dave Brubeck Quartet Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks
- Dave Brubeck at AllMusic
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Mentioned in
- Time Changes (1963 Album by The Dave Brubeck Quartet)
- Jazz Showcase (1994 Album by Various Artists)
- Jazz: The Intimate Art (1980 Music Film)
- Live at Montreux (1977 Album by The New Brubeck Quartet)
- Tritonis (1980 Album by Dave Brubeck Quartet)
- In His Own Sweet Way: A Tribute to Dave Brubeck (2000 Album by Various Artists)
- Brother, the Great Spirit Made Us All (1974 Album by Dave Brubeck)
- The Riddle (1959 Album by Dave Brubeck With Bill Smith)
- Dave Brubeck: Rediscovering Dave Brubeck (2001 Music Film)
- Joe Dodge (Rock Artist, '80s, '90s)
- Joe Sanders (Jazz Artist, 2000s)
- Trio Brubeck (1993 Album by Dave Brubeck)
- Truth Is Fallen/Brother the Great Spirit Made Us All (2000 Album by Dave Brubeck)
- Jazz Greats [Madacy] (2000 Album by Various Artists)
