Dave Brubeck (Piano, Composer)

Born: December 6, 1920 - Concord, California, USA

The Jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, Dave [David Warren] Brubeck, received early training in classical music frorm his mother, a pianist, and by the age of 13 he was performing professionally with local jazz groups. In 1941-1942, while a music major at the College ofthe Pacific in Stockton, California, he led a 12-piece band; he also studied classical composition with Darius Milhaud at Mills College. During World War II he was sent to Europe to lead a service band (1944).

After his discharge in 1946 he resumed his studies with Milhaud, and, with fellow students, founded the experimental Jazz Workshop Ensemble, which recorded in 1949 as the Dave Brubeck Octet. Also in 1949, with Cal Tjader and Norman Bates (whose place was later taken by Ron Crotty), he organized the Dave Brubeck Trio. This group existed until 1951,when, with the addition of Paul Desmond, Brubeck formed his first quartet. The "classic" Brubeck quartet was created when Brubeck and Desmond were joined by Joe Morello (1956) and Gene Wright (1958); this group remained together until 1967, when Brubeck disbanded it to concentrate on composing.

Brubeck's quartet was immensely popular on college campuses in the 1950s; the album Jazz at Oberlin, recorded in concert at that college in 1953, contains some of Brubeck's and especially Desmond's finest improvisations. In 1954, as a sign of his growing popularity, Brubeck's picture appeared on the cover of Time and he left Fantasy for Columbia Records. During the 1950’s and 1960’s he began experimenting with time signatures unusual in jazz, such as 5/4, 9/8, and 11/4. By 1959 he had recorded the first jazz instrumental piece to sell a million copies - Desmond's Take Five (in 5/4 meter), which was released with his own Blue Rondo a la Turk (in 9/8, grouped 2+2+2+3). Only Max Roach had preceded Brubeck in the successful integration of irregular meters and jazz forms.

Brubeck, who considers himself in essence" a composer who plays the piano," has written and, in some instances, recorded several large-scale compositions since the 1960’s, including two ballets, a musical. an oratorio, four cantatas, a mass, and works for jazz group and orchestra, as well as many pieces for solo piano. In the 1970’s he organized several new quartets which at various times included one or more of his sons: the keyboard player (David) Darius Brubeck (b San Francisco, June 14, 1947); the trombonist and electric bass guitarist Chris Brubeck (b Los Angeles, March 19, 1952); and the drummer and percussionist Danny (Daniel) Brubeck (b Oakland, CA, May 4, 1955). Brubeck has appeared at the Newport (1958, 1972, 1981), Monterey (1962, 1980), Concord (1982), and Kool jazz festivals, and performed at the White House (1964, 1981). During the 1950’s and 1960’s he was a frequent winner of popularity polls in Down Beat, Metronome, and other magazines. In 1976 Brubeck performed and recorded again with Desmond, Morello, and Wright to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the formation of his first quartet.

His honors and awards include: 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); Inducted into California Hall of Fame (2008); Kennedy Centre Honour (2009); George Washington University Honorary Degree (2010); Honorary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey (2011).

Source: The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, edited by Barry Kernfeld (McMillan, 1988; Article Author: Richard Wand); Wikipedia Website (July 2011)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (August 2011)

Links to other Sites

Dave Brubeck (Official Website)
The Brubeck Institute
Dave Brubeck - Biography, CDs and concert review (Cosmopolis)

Dave Bruneck (Wikipedia)
Dave Bruneck Discography Project
Dave Bruneck – Biography (AMG)

Bibliography

D. Brubeck: "Jazz Evolvement as Art Form:' DB, xvii (1950), No. l, p.12; No.2, p.13
"Brubeck, Dave (W.)," CBY 1956
R. Gleason: "Dave Brubeck Remembers: 'They Said I was too Far out'," DB, xxiv/16 (1957), 17
I. Brubeck and D. Brubeck: "Jazz Perspective:' Jam Session: an Anthology of Jazz, ed. R. Gleason (New York and London, 1958)
H. Brubeck: Dave Brubeck (New York, 1961) [BMI pubn; incl. discography]
L. Tomkins: "It's not Easy to Take Criticism - or Praise," Crescendo, i/6 (1963), 6 [interview]
L. Feather: "Dave Brubeck, Composer:' DB, xxxiii/13 (1966), 18
D. Locke: "Early Dave:' JM, xii/6 (1966), 2
Biography of DaveBrubeck (New York, 1972)
D. Morgenstern: "Two Generations of Brubecks: a Talk with Dave, Darius, and Chris:' DB, xxxix/lO (1972), 12
L. Tomkins: "Dave Brubeck Today," CI, xi/5 (1972), 20 [interview]
A. J. Smith: "The Dave Brubeck Quartet: a Quarter of a Century Young:' DB, xliii/6 (1976), 18 [interview]
C. J. Stuessy: The Confluence of Jazz and ClassicalMusic {rom 1950 to 1970 (diss., Eastman School, 1978), 296-320, 396ff
L. Tomkins: "The Diversified World of Dave Brubeck," CI, xviii/3 (1979), 20 [interview]
"Dave Brubeck:' SJ, xxxiv/2 (1980), 164 [discography]
I. Storb: "Dave Brubeck, Komponist und Pianist," Jf, xiii (1981), 9-43 [incl. list of works]
L. Lyons: The Great Jazz Pianists: Speaking of their Lives and Music (New York, 1983), 102