Supporting the Jazz Genre and The 4 Land's Region of Central Europe
The History Of Jazz - Dave Brubeck - 1920 – 2012
David Warren Brubeck was born in 1920 in Concord, California and was considered to be one of the leading exponents of 'West Coast Jazz' or 'Cool Jazz'.
He had a cult following in the universities amongst others. His style ranged from the 'refined to the experimental' and his mother's classical training was evident in many of his compositions whilst his own improvisational skills were groundbraking for superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters and tonalities.
Dave's academic career started in veterinary science at the College Of The Pacific in Stockton, CA but his lecturer, a Dr Arnold told Dave to change to a musical career path as 'his mind was clearly not on his veterinary studies'. He did move across and was even expelled when one of his professors discovered that he couldn't read music on sight. However some of the other professors came forward stating that his ability to write counterpoint and harmony more than compensated for this and he should be given another chance which was the outcome, albeit with the proviso that 'he never taught piano'.
Dave was drafted into the army in 1942 and after volunteering to play for the Red Cross, his shows were such a big hit that he was asked to form a band which became known as The Wolfpack. It was during this time that he met saxman Paul Desmond in 1944 who was to become his sideman for many albums and concerts in the future including 'Time Out'.
In 1951 Dave damaged several neck vertebrae and his spinal cord whilst diving into the surf in Hawaii. He would later remark that the rescue workers who responded had described him as a "DOA" (dead on arrival).
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The History Of Jazz - Dave Brubeck - 1920 – 2012
He recovered after a few months but suffered with residual nerve pain in his hands for years thereafter. The injury also influenced his playing style towards complex, blocky chords rather than speedy, high-dexterity, single-note runs.
In 1954, he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, the second jazz musician to be so honored (the first was Louis Armstrong in 1949). Dave found this accolade embarrassing since he considered Duke Ellington far more deserving of it and was convinced that he had been favoured for being 'Caucasian'. Duke Ellington himself knocked on the door of Dave's hotel room to show him the cover and the only reaction Dave could give was 'It should have been you Duke'.
Dave Brubeck was a pioneer already before 'Time Out' was released in 1959 and 'it was the first album to really explore the uncharted seas of compound time' states Steve Race on his cover notes.
Some artists before him, notably Benny Carter and Max Roach had experimented in 3/4 waltz time but Dave went further and found even more exotic time signatures by laying one rhythm in counterpoint over another.
