The Ruffled Crow

I just read of Dave Brubeck‘s passing today. He was 91 years old.

Tomorrow, his 92nd birthday, was to have been marked by a concert in Waterbury, Connecticut. It will still go on, but as a tribute and, undoubtedly, a celebration of a jazz icon. You see, Mr Brubeck not only brought a lot to jazz, but he brought jazz to a lot of people. He played with jazz, and had so much fun with it that we could do nothing except enjoy it. Dave Brubeck changed jazz and changed the way we listened to it.

Two years ago tomorrow, when he turned 90, I posted a short bio of his college days and slide into jazz as well as a video of Take Five (with his long-time sax-man paul desmond). Please check it out. The Chicago Tribune has a nice write-up as well.

Mr Brubeck most famously played around with time signatures and here is a great example:

First track from the best Dave Brubeck album Time Out. The name comes from the 9/8 Turkish rhythms as 2+2+2+3 and 3+3+3 which are played consecutively in this piece.