Dave Brubeck

Pairing esoteric formal structures with accessible melodies and grooves, pianist and composer Dave Brubeck is an enduring hero of early West Coast jazz and the “third stream” fusion movement. Born near San Francisco in 1920, Brubeck was drawn to French impressionist classical music in his twenties, in part through his composition studies with Darius Milhaud, which came to influence his jazz compositions. Brubeck formed his famed quartet under his own name in the ’50s, eventually featuring saxophonist Paul Desmond. The group reached its popular apex in 1959 with the ubiquitous, metrically lopsided single “Take Five.” Other Brubeck standards also integrate unusual time signatures, which became part of his signature. The ’60s saw Brubeck continuing to challenge his own musicianship with the release of orchestral works, the vocal cantatas “The Gates of Justice” (1969) and “Truth is Fallen” (1972), and other classically influenced works. His cool-jazz legacy was further cemented through his quartet work with saxophonist Gerry Mulligan. Brubeck remained active in writing, recording, and performing up until his death in 2012.