George Costanza
A Friendly Liberal
Dave Brubeck died earlier today. He would have turned 92 tomorrow. He was one of the greats of American jazz. What little I know about jazz, I learned when I was in college by listening to several albums of his ("Jazz Goes to College" and "Jazz at Oberlin") and then having a buddy of mine (a music major) tell me what I was hearing.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet dominated jazz for probably three decades. Brubeck's contrapuntal duels with Paul Desmond were classic - I never tire of listening to them.
Brubeck learned to play piano by ear. He was sent into combat in WWII as an infantry rifleman but, when his company commander heard him playing the piano, he said: "I don't want that man going into combat," and he never did.
I, for one, will miss Dave Brubeck a great deal. Behind the great musician, I sensed that he was also just a nice guy.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet dominated jazz for probably three decades. Brubeck's contrapuntal duels with Paul Desmond were classic - I never tire of listening to them.
Brubeck learned to play piano by ear. He was sent into combat in WWII as an infantry rifleman but, when his company commander heard him playing the piano, he said: "I don't want that man going into combat," and he never did.
I, for one, will miss Dave Brubeck a great deal. Behind the great musician, I sensed that he was also just a nice guy.
