The jazz great behind "Take five" died Wednesday at the age of 91. The white boy who swung with the hepcats of the 1950s, forming the dave brubeck Quartet in 1951 and changing the timeing of jaz with the Seminal Take Five, the title track in 5/4 time and "Blue Rondo Ala Turk (named after a New Romantic band no doubt) in 9/8 time.
Out own M. Kriss wrote a terrific article about him on his 90th birthday. I saw him maybe five times but the last time was 2005 and from what I heard the man was getting a little tired lately, What else can I tell you? He invented syncopation and Donald Fagen immortalized him with "I hear you're mad about Brubeck. I like your eyes, I like him too. . He's an artist, a pioneer, we've got to have some music on the new frontier"
More? He sold boatloads of albums and was never given quite his due except by our M. Kriss who wrote: "Though not the critic’s “private stash of jazz virtuosity” discerning connoisseurs thrive on hoarding from the hordes, Brubeck is a composer of renown to musicians and public alike. If being dissed for being POPular is his 40 lashes for creating such measurably memorable compositions as “40 Days” and “In Your Own Sweet Way” — 4 get about it! Besides introducing the world to syncopation and being known for some of the highest grossing jazz albums of all time, what more of a legacy does a jazzman need? "