Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck, iconoclastic jazz composer and pianist, passed from this world earlier today.

He was inspired by the rise of West Coast jazz, but he became famous for his unconventional meters; in particular, for his 1959 album Time Out, a personal favorite of mine. The entire album is fantastic, but there are two pieces that stand out:

Blue Rondo à la Turk is the opening number on the album. The piece’s theme includes an unusual 9/8 rhythm (the theme contains three measures of 2+2+2+3 followed by one measure of 3+3+3).  Apparently, Brubeck first heard the rhythm performed by Turkish street musicians. When he asked about the rhythm, they replied that the rhythm, to them, was like the blues to him; hence the piece’s name. This piece is commonly — and erroneously — thought to be based on Mozart’s Rondo ala Turca.

The other stand-out piece on the album is Take Five, which was written by Paul Desmond, whose flowing, ethereal alto saxophone helped propel this album, and The Dave Brubeck Quartet (Brubeck, Desmond, Eugene Wright (b), and Joe Morello (d)),  into mainstream culture.

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I mourn Dave Brubeck’s passing, but will continue to revel within the genius of his musical vision.

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Art Blakey

Art Blakey began his musical career at church, where he learned to play the piano.

In his early teens he was the pianist in his jazz band until he was persuaded (purportedly at gun point by the owner of the club where they were playing)  to move from piano to drums (a young Erroll Garner — another jazz giant — took Blakey’s spot at the piano), thus  launching one of the great careers of jazz. And Blakey — in a similar manner to Miles Davis — was instrumental in further launching the careers of many young jazz stars.

In 1948, Blakey was influenced by the polyrhythmic drumming techniques he was introduced to while visiting western Africa, and these influences helped pave Blakey’s path from a bebop to a hard bop drumming style.

In 1954, Blakey, along with pianist Horace Silver, formed the first Jazz Messengers quintet (with Lou Donaldson (alto), Clifford Brown (trumpet), and Curley Russell (base)). It was The Jazz Messenger groups that cemented Blakey’s legendary status in the history of jazz.  Horace Silver left the group in 1956 and The Jazz Messengers were fully under Blakey’s control (for an example of Horace Silver’s oeuvre see, in particular, Song for my Father (1964), the inspiration for Steely Dan’s Rikki Don’t Lose that Number — specifically the base-line).

For me, the highlight of Blakey and The Jazz Messengers came in 1958 with Moanin’, one of my favorite songs. There are other gems on the Moanin’ album (including the lyrical Along Came Betty, and The Drum Thunder Suite, which shows off Blakey’s power and versatility), but Moanin’ is the song that blows me away: it begins calmly and the rhythm roils comfortably, but when Lee Morgan’s solo begins, it transports me to a higher reality. I could listen to the song over and over; and I’m not the only admirer, it’s a hard bop classic.

Art Blakey passed from this world in 1990, but his soulful, powerful drumming — infused with the funky-blues rhythm that helped formulate hard bop jazz —ensures that his spirit will live on as long as we remember, and listen to, his music.

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Music for Enlightened Elevators

A short list of some excellent jazz music. The cuts are listed chronologically, except for A Love Supreme, which I had to put last, because whenever I listen to it I’m unable to listen to anything else for a while.

Night in Tunisia, Stan Getz, from West Coast Jazz, 1955

 Blues Walk, Lou Donaldson, from Blues Walk, 1958

One for Daddy-O, Cannonball Adderly, from Something Else, 1958

Moanin’, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, from Moanin’, 1958

 Take Five, Dave Brubeck Quartet, from Time Out, 1959

 Freddie Freeloader, Miles Davis, from Kind of Blue, 1959

Bolivar Blues, Thelonius Monk, from Monk’s Dream, 1963

Question and Answer, Pat Metheny, from Question and Answer, 1989

Lennie’s Pennies, Charlie Haden, from Quartet West, 1991

Afro Blues, John McLaughlin, from After the Rain, 1995

‘Ques Sez, Garry Burton, from next generation, 2005

A Love Supreme¸ John Coltrane, from A Love Supreme, 1965