A generation ago Brubeck was largely dismissed as an unswinging pianist with a vulgar preoccupation with odd time-signatures. Now he is a senatorial figure whose work is celebrated as much as it used to be reviled. On this evidence the contemporary view is fair. Brubeck could be heavy-handed, and some of his 1960s work was undoubtedly pretentious; on the other hand, he had considerable harmonic imagination, constantly surprised with his delicate melodiousness, and could generate prodigious swing. Moreover, in Paul Desmond he enjoyed the services of a top-class alto saxophonist who was also a deeply sympathetic spirit. Here they are joined on all but one of the 15 tracks by Brubeck's finest rhythm section, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello, and the programme, in addition to memorialising old favourites, includes Brubeck's excellent compositions "The Duke", "Mr. Broadway" and "In Your Own Sweet Way"…
David Warren Brubeck (born December 6, 1920 in Concord, California - December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist who has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". He was probably best known for "Take Five", written by saxophone player Paul Desmond, who was the saxophonist in The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Due to the immense popularity of his work, Brubeck had won multiple awards such as a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 1996, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship in 1999, and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009…
This 11-track collection of Dave Brubeck's tunes from his days on the Columbia label is about as solid top-to-bottom as one could ask for. There's absolutely no filler, no second-rate material, and contains all of – all of – the finest work Brubeck did in the late '50s and early '60s…
This four-CD boxed set does a near-perfect job of summing up Dave Brubeck's extensive recorded legacy. Drawing its recordings from not only Columbia but Fantasy, Atlantic and Music Masters, the attractive package also includes an extensive booklet written by Doug Ramsey that can serve as a mini-biography.
David Warren Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, considered one of the foremost exponents of cool jazz. Many of his compositions have become jazz standards including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting both his mother's classical training and his own improvisational skills. His music is known for employing unusual time signatures as well as superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities.
In 1961, Dave Brubeck put together a remarkable musical show. Using the talents of Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars, Carmen McRae, the innovative bop vocal group Lambert, Hendricks And Ross, and his own rhythm section, Brubeck and his wife, lyricist Iola, wrote a largely upbeat play full of anti-racism songs and tunes that celebrated human understanding. Although it had only one live performance (at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival), The Real Ambassadors was recorded for posterity and now, with its reissue on CD, the original 15 selections have been augmented by five more…