Born on December 6, 1920 and died of heart failure on December 5, 2012 (same day as Roy Orbison in 1988), David Warren “Dave” Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, considered to be one of the foremost exponents of progressive jazz.
His long-time musical partner, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, wrote the saxophone melody for the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s best remembered piece, “Take Five”, which is in 5/4 time and has endured as a jazz classic on one of the top-selling jazz albums, Time Out. Brubeck experimented with time signatures throughout his career, recording “Pick Up Sticks” in 6/4, “Unsquare Dance” in 7/4, “World’s Fair” in 13/4, and “Blue Rondo à la Turk” in 9/8. He was also a respected composer of orchestral and sacred music, and wrote soundtracks for television.
R.I.P.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJE92phKzI&w=545&h=409]
