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Dave Brubeck - RIP


Chuck Nessa

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I'm trying to think of anyone who ot more people into jazz than Brubeck. Anyone else feel that way? Heck, he was on the cover of Time.

Miles was a publicly visible personality. Duke was too. I'm not sure either was a Real Ambassador. Perhaps Louis Armstrong. In the end, wherever his roles started and ended, jazz will miss him.

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Two of his albums were some of the first jazz LPs I acquired. RIP.

The very first jazz album I ever bought:

crown5470.jpg

Using a perpetual calendar, I can pinpoint the exact date: December 19, 1970. At a Firestone store in Gladewater, Texas, paid for with birthday money.

I'd forgotten that "personal" connection to Brubeck, shouldn't do that. Thanks for the reminder.

Edited by JSngry
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I liked the quartet before I learned it was not hip. While in high school in Iowa I drove 50 miles to hear the quartet at a concert in Des Moines. After the concert I searched out the band and had a silly high school dialogue with them. Eventually Brubeck said they had to leave for an obligatory reception and asked if I wanted to come along. The meet and greet was in the Fort Des Moines Hotel where they were staying and after a half hour or so, the band said their good byes and we left. Out in the hallway Brubeck said "I’m hungry, let’s get something to eat". Morello wasn’t feeling well and Desmond and Wright said they would take him to his room and tend to him. Brubeck looked at me and said “Let’s get some steaks!” We went to the restaurant in the hotel and had a fine meal. I have retained none of the dinner conversation and it is probably better that way.

Later I learned the things to not like about the music but that never affected my feelings about the man.

FWIW I now have 20 cds of his music.

Edited by Chuck Nessa
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Sad news indeed. Having never been of big fan of Brubeck outside of owning the obvious "Time Out" , I will keep in mind those recommendations mentioned in this thread. Most notably "Live At Carnegie Hall". Great to read all the many positive comments on the man.

The simple equation to follow is the Brubeck plus Desmond or Mulligan equals something worthwhile.
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Over 90 years of life with an active mind and fingers nimble enough to to play to the end with people who wanted to see him play. To a life well lived! Also if you had to go (and we all do sometime), thank you for doing so today as his music bumped Christmas songs out of many a local shop that I wandered around in over lunch. R.I.P.

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Like Chuck I was sometimes iffy about the music, but what a fine human being he was! And I did like some of the things he did very much, particularly the album the quartet did with the great Jimmy Rushing. Think I'll play that one tonight. Thanks for the example of a life uncommonly well lived, Dave.

gregmo

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I liked the quartet before I learned it was not hip. While in high school in Iowa I drove 50 miles to hear the quartet at a concert in Des Moines. After the concert I searched out the band and had a silly high school dialogue with them. Eventually Brubeck said they had to leave for an obligatory reception and asked if I wanted to come along. The meet and greet was in the Fort Des Moines Hotel where they were staying and after a half hour or so, the band said their good byes and we left. Out in the hallway Brubeck said "I’m hungry, let’s get something to eat". Morello wasn’t feeling well and Desmond and Wright said they would take him to his room and tend to him. Brubeck looked at me and said “Let’s get some steaks!” We went to the restaurant in the hotel and had a fine meal. I have retained none of the dinner conversation and it is probably better that way.

Later I learned the things to not like about the music but that never affected my feelings about the man.

FWIW I now have 20 cds of his music.

Thanks for this story, Chuck.

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Like many, I was kind of into Dave Brubeck early, then basically set him aside for years--even decades. Even today as I watched some footage of the quartet, I thought, "What a group of nerdy looking guys." But I certainly came back to Brubeck, really enjoying records like Young Lions and Old Tigers, with a knock-out array of guest artists including Lovano, Brecker, and Hargrove. There's a live set from Berlin in the 70s or maybe late 60s, with Gerry Mulligan--some astonishing stuff.

Great stuff from Mr. Brubeck through his decades of quality work. "Blue Rondo" and "Take Five" are in everyone's consciousness (not just the the jazz folk), and you don't have to dig far to find gems like "Koto Song" and "Strange Meadowlark--beautiful songs never to be forgotten.

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that is the 1st happy thought i had all day chuck, great story. RIP Dave Brubeck. December 6, 1920 - December 5, 2012. God bless him and his music. I can remember, and feel, my last personal interation with him, like it happened 2 seconds ago. My last time seeing him in concert was by far the best Brubeck experience i ever had. I had the greatest seat. i was seated OUTSIDE THE JAZZ CLUB by the emergency exit door, on 6th ave. squatted down on one knee, looking up and an angle. from this perculiar vantage point, for the 1st time ever, i saw every note Brubeck hit, both hands. from only a few feet away. and some of the material, blew my mind, he did this one song, what could only be catagorized as hardcore jazz rock fusion... it was -heavy-, drummer was laying down a solid rock-jazz beat, brubeck took a crazy solo. to this day i dont know what tune it was. this was a year poss. 2, ago. no more than 2. i unfortunately cant recall right now. through the years ive been bleesed to have lots of special brubeck concert experiences: the 1st time i ever saw him, EUGENE WRIGHT sat in, unannounced!! I've seen him with Bill Smith numerous times. one time he was using all these special effects on his clairnet, it was very modern, and very different.........just like his collaborations w/ Brubeck on Coumbia! Back to the last time, squatted on one knee............i saw every note he played, i finally saw him in concert and saw every note. the split second the show was over, the door i was squatting by, flew open, and some dude rushed out and got into a car on the street right there. exactly 10 seconds later, out comes Brubeck, by himself, to walk the 20 ft from door to car. i was the only person out there, as he walked by me i said, "Awesome concert, Mr. Brubeck." he turned, said: "Thanks" and got in the car and drove off like a rock star. I swear to god no one else was standing on the entire city block, i have met him before, with many other people around and once, just with his wife and him, but this was no one else but me and him.

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" I hear you're mad about Brubeck, I like your eyes, I like him too.."

"He's an artist, a pioneer, we've gotta have some music on the New Frontier"

Donald Fagen- 'New Frontier'

They seem like platitudes spoken to get into a girl's pants, but they sound worthy of the man. RIP.

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Some facts

I saw the Dave Brubeck Quartet three times.

I have a thousand discs in my collection.

Ten are by Paul Desmond.

None are by Dave Brubeck.

No further comment.

I have twenty times as many discs with Louis Jordan leader dates than I have John Coltrane leader dates.

So what?

One man's meat is another man's poison. ;)

Thanks a lot for sharing that story, Chuck!

Now I have "Hey Pete, Let's Eat More Meat" in my head and can't get rid of it :)

Did Brubeck cover that? :D

(Seems like we cannot get away from "meat" right now anyway. ;) )

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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