| Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck is one of the stalwarts of | | | | years playing nothing but the opposite of what he had |
| jazz piano. His music is characterized by unusual time | | | | intended to when he started out playing jazz |
| signatures and can be either extreme - totally dynamic | | | | standards with the other members of the trio except |
| or or completely relaxed. His most famous piece - | | | | Paul Desmond. |
| Take Five - is so popular it has taken on almost cult | | | | In 1951 after an almost fatal swimming accident, Dave |
| status, and rightfully so. | | | | formed his next group The Dave Brubeck Quartet - |
| David Warren Brubeck (aka Dave Brubeck)was born | | | | this time with Desmond in it. They were the house |
| on the 6th of December, 1920. His thing for music | | | | band for awhile at the Black hawk nightclub in San |
| came from his mother - an aspiring concert pianist | | | | Francisco. The new quartet was very successful. |
| who was formally taught. She used to take piano | | | | They started touring college campuses and made a |
| classes to supplement her income. Despite having such | | | | series of recordings including Jazz At Oberlin, Jazz |
| organized music at home, Dave Brubeck took to his | | | | Goes To College and Jazz Goes To Junior College. |
| own way of learning and playing the piano opting to | | | | The fame and success got Dave Brubeck space on |
| create his own melodies. He purposely avoided a | | | | the cover of Time Magazine - the only jazz musician |
| situation where he had to read music and play using | | | | to have the honor since Louis Armstrong. Sometime |
| his bad eyesight as an excuse. | | | | around the mid 1950's one half of the group - two |
| When in college, it was discovered that he could not | | | | members Bob Bates and Joe Dodge - quit the group. |
| read written music. This caused for the professor in | | | | They were replaced by Eugene Wright and Joe |
| charge to take action and expel him but his other | | | | Morello. Eugene Wright's presence in the band put the |
| professors stood by the fact that despite his inability to | | | | band on a black list for some venues since he he was |
| read music, he had a good abilities when it came to | | | | a African American. Many concerts were called off |
| counterpointing and harmony. Taking his case as an | | | | because club owners were averse to having an |
| exception, it was decided that he be allowed to | | | | African-American play in their premises. |
| graduate from the institute promising to never teach | | | | Upon realizing that there were plans to not film Wright |
| piano. | | | | during a particular television show on which they were |
| Armed with a degree from the University Of The | | | | performing ,Dave canceled the appearance, winning |
| Pacific, he was drafted to join the army in 1942. During | | | | praise from other musicians and many jazz critics. |
| his service in the army, he met his future partner in | | | | 1959 saw the release of Time Out which had the one |
| music, saxaphonist Paul Desmond. While serving in the | | | | quality of Dave Brubeck that he is known by today - |
| US Defence Forces, he played in a band which | | | | unusual time signatures. Despite them not being in |
| brought both fame and dislike to his musical stylings. | | | | common time but instead in 5/4 time, the album was a |
| After almost four years serving in the Army, he went | | | | hit and the album was soon certified platinum. When |
| back to college and got himself enrolled in Mills College | | | | Dave plays Take Five at concerts, the audience |
| in Oakland, California. There he studied with the French | | | | almost always goes wild with applause. |
| composer Darius Milhaud who recognized his unusual | | | | Dave's next act was a musical that he and his wife |
| talent for improvisation and uncommon rhythms. | | | | Iola wrote - a jazz musical based on the experiences |
| Immediately after finishing his course in Mills College, he | | | | that they had during an international tour on behalf of |
| was signed to Fantasy Records in Berkeley California. | | | | the US State Department. It had all the big names of |
| He started singing with an octet and a trio which | | | | the time - Louis Armstrong, Hendricks & Ross, |
| eventually became a quartet when Army pal Paul | | | | Lambert and Carmen McRae. Later albums of the |
| Desmond joined the group which originally included Cal | | | | quartet include Time Further Out: Miro Reflections |
| Tjader and Ron Crotty. | | | | (1961), Countdown: Time in Outer Space,Time Changes |
| Taking after his inclination to play music that was more | | | | and Time In. All these albums had iconic album covers |
| unusual than not at the time, they recorded some | | | | by contemporary artists. They held a concert titled At |
| music which didn't have enough mass appeal to be a | | | | Carnegie Hall in 1963 which was described as Dave |
| success which hence gave them very few gigs. After | | | | Brubeck's greatest concert, but 40 years later he is still |
| failing to draw in crowds, Dave Brubeck spent many | | | | playing great concert after great concert. |