Biography - BD - Salute To Dave Brubeck -

12/07/2012
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

I'm June Simms.

On our show this week, we play music from some nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

We look at parental stress and what some churches are doing to ease it...

But first, we remember jazz great Dave Brubeck, who died this week.

Remembering Dave Brubeck

Jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck died Wednesday -- a day before his ninety-second birthday. Brubeck rose to fame in the 1950s and became an international jazz star. Christopher Cruise has more on the life and work of this great American artist.

That is "Blue Rondo A La Turk," from Dave Brubeck's 1959 album "Time Out." Many experts believe the song helped launch a new age for jazz. The song has complex and unusual beat patterns. Brubeck also borrowed sounds and rhythms from the developing world and classical music.

Dave Brubeck was born in Concord, California. His mother was a classically trained piano teacher. He formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet after World War II, performing at jazz clubs in small towns across the country. Brubeck said those performances gave him his best training.

"When I grew up almost every bar had a small combo and there were dance halls that we used to drive across this country from one dance hall --- and maybe two or three hundred miles --- the next day we'd be in a different dance hall. Great dance halls clear across the open part of Nebraska and those towns, and we'd come across that way. It's changed a lot because most of our jazz now is in universities and colleges have taken over the old way that we used to have...a way to learn was one-on-one next to an old veteran."

"Take Five" was also released on "Time Out." It is probably the song most strongly linked to Dave Brubeck. But it was written by alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, Brubeck's long-time musical partner. The jazz piece was so successful it earned a place on pop music charts.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet performed and recorded until the late 1960s. At that time, Dave Brubeck decided to explore jazz-based symphonic and religious music. He also traveled a lot and recorded albums based on his experiences with other cultures.

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