David Brubeck

David Brubeck

1920-2012

After Recovering from a swimming accident, Brubeck formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet with saxophonist Paul Desmond. The Quartet included various sidemen over the next several years, and began touring the U.S. and building a fan base, particularly on college campuses. The college shows were Iola’s idea and were presented as concerts

David Warren Brubeck was born Dec. 6, 1920, in Concord to parents Pete Brubeck and Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck. Dave's mother was a classical piano teacher. His family moved to a cattle ranch in Ione when he was 12 and Brubeck began playing piano in local bands while in high school

A Quartet accompanied President Ronald Reagan to Moscow to perform during the Reagan-Gorbachev Summit. The day after Brubeck’s performance, Reagan and Secretary Gorbachev signed the INF treaty ratification at the Grand Kremlin.

Brubeck Recieved much recognition in his lifetime, including an appearance on the cover of Time magazine in 1954, the second jazz musician so featured. Though Brubeck thought Duke Ellington was more deserving of the honor. He received a Grammy lifetime achievement award recognizing his work as an American jazz pianist and composer in 1996. In 1999 the National Endowment for the Arts named Brubeck a Jazz Master. He has received many other honors in the U.S. and abroad for his contributions to jazz, including the National Medal of the Arts, a Living Legacy Jazz Award from the Kennedy Center and the Austrian Medal of the Arts

Dave Brubeck died of heart failure in Norwalk, Conn., at age 91. He would have celebrated his 92nd birthday the next day. He and Iola had been married for 70 years

Jazz

"Time Out" was recorded and released, named for its odd time signatures in songs such as “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk.” It became the first jazz album to sell more than a million copies. “Take Five” headed to the top of the jazz and the pop music charts

A Dave Brubeck Quartet featuring his son Chris on electric bass toured the Soviet Union. Brubeck’s other sons also would perform. Dave and Iola Brubeck have six children, five boys and a girl, four of whom also became professional musicians.

Rising Up

Honored

Early Years

Family Affair

Big Hit

Making Impressions

Losing A Lengend