Today the shop is filled with violins and cellos, but on other days you might hear pianos and saxophones slipping among the book stacks. Music can set the mood or suit the mood, and a man who was good at both was Dave Brubeck.
Jazz music has always intrigued me, although I can’t claim to be one of those finger-snapping, sunglasses-wearing aficionados. I could always recognize Take Five, the Dave Brubeck standard that seemed to be extremely simple and daringly complex at the same time.
Mr Brubeck died of heart failure in Boston today, one day before his 92nd birthday.
Since WWII, the pianist has been a fixture of the modern jazz scene, but I couldn’t say whether his would be considered a household name. Certainly anyone who has dipped into the jazz genre to any depth would have come into contact with his work.
His 1959 album (that’s what they called CDs back before they got small and shiny and cased in plastic) entitled Time Out was the first jazz record to sell more than a million copies. Brubeck was the first jazz musician to appear on Time magazine, in 1954.
He played before presidents and smoky-jazz club audiences and received Kennedy Center Honors just a few years ago, reminding people (and introducing new listeners) of his unique style of music.
During the Second World War, Brubeck served in Europe under General George Patton, although he wielded sheet music instead of a rifle. His group was called the Wolfpack Band and was the only racially integrated unit in the military.
More than sixty years of music and most of those years as an active player. The likes of him won’t be seen again soon.
