DAVE BRUBECK
Ambassador, unifier, innovative
Bande No. 1
Bande No. 1
DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
DEBUT IN THE NETHERLANDS 1958
With the support of the American State Department, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, including new members Joe Morello and Eugene Wright, began a major tour of Europe early in 1958. Their first concert in the Netherlands was held on 26 February in the legendary Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam, usually reserved for performances of classical music. Since 1951 and the collaboration between Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, the band had gained a stunning reputation. In 1954, Dave Brubeck was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Rumor has it that Duke Ellington knocked on Brubeck’s hotel door to congratulate him. Brubeck is said to have responded, “It should have been you.” He dedicated one of his most famous pieces, “The Duke”, included on this album, to his fellow pianist.
DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
DEBUT IN THE NETHERLANDS 1958
DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
DEBUT IN THE NETHERLANDS 1958
The story of this discovery
"The discovery of the original reel tape of this concert in the Dutch archives was completely fortuitous: we were going to the Netherlands to listen to some recordings by Msistlav Rostropovich which had unfortunately turned out to be unusable. A television crew present that day asked if we could film the basements where the thousands of analog tapes were stored. It is by looking at one of the shelves in particular that we read the name of Brubeck on the edge of the box! We went back to the studio and put the tape on our player. The first notes of Paul Desmond in "Two-Part Contention" invaded the studio like the smiles on our faces..."
Frédéric D'ORIA-NICOLAS
Musical treasure seeker
THE FORMATS OF THIS DISCOVERY
New Man Mag
"Mettle, joie de vivre, rhythmic innovations, all the magic of the Dave Brubeck Quartet is in this recording, restored with exceptional technical processes."
Bande No. 2
Bande No. 2
DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
LIVE AT THE KURHAUS 1967
At the time of one of their last concerts in 1967, the Dave Brubeck Quartet had already been in existence for 16 years, in more or less the same formation. That's how well the four of them know each other! It was at the Black Hawk night club in San Francisco that Dave and Paul made their debut. Their trademark: to break down racial barriers against which they will fight without restraint, even in the most extreme period of McCarthyism, and to make jazz accessible to the greatest number of people, by revisiting ballads, popular songs or great themes of classical music. But above all, they developed an almost infinite variety of complex rhythms. In Scheveningen, on the evening of 24 October 1967, the Dave Brubeck Quartet was more than just a jazz band. He was the ambassador of American music in Europe.
DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
LIVE AT THE KURHAUS 1967
DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET
LIVE AT THE KURHAUS 1967
THE FORMATS OF THIS DISCOVERY
"We discovered this previously unreleased recording during our second trip to the Dutch archives. This ensemble is a miracle of alchemy: the great culture and the structural, harmonic and rhythmic innovations of Dave Brubeck taught by Darius Milhaud, the pulsation of Joe Morello, the groove of Eugene Wright, and Paul Desmond's irresistible, suave and delicate tone could only constitute a quartet which would achieve a worldwide success. This recording is a true masterpiece. Each title is a gem, with exquisite and refined style served by an exceptional sound quality that allows each color to be appreciated at its true value. An unforgettable moment."
Frédéric D'ORIA-NICOLAS
Musical treasure seeker
THE FORMATS OF THIS DISCOVERY
Le Journal du Dimanche
“The restorations of The Lost Recordings are worthy of those devoted to master paintings”
The birth of a prodigy
Dave Brubeck was born on December 6, 1920 in Concord, California. He was surrounded by music during his childhood thanks to his mother, a classically trained pianist, and his two older brothers who would later become professional musicians. It was at the age of 4 that Dave Brubeck received his first piano lessons. It wasn't easy as the young Brubeck showed some reluctance to learn to read music, but his natural ease at the keyboard and his ability to pick up melodies by ear kept the secret from him for many years. As a teenager, Dave Brubeck had a passion for music and performed with a local dance band in his spare time, however, he planned to take a more practical career path and study veterinary medicine. To help pay for his education, Dave Brubeck played piano in local nightclubs, his enthusiasm for performing was so great, that one of his teachers advised him to study music. He followed this advice and graduated in 1942 even though he still could not read music.
A career like no other
Dave Brubeck makes his first commercial recordings for the California-based Fantasy Records label. During 1951, the Dave Brubeck Quartet made its debut and the pianist was joined by Paul Desmond on alto saxophone. The rhythm section of the Quartet changed with Joe Morello becoming their permanent drummer in 1956 and Eugene Wright becoming the regular bassist in 1958.
Dave Brubeck's recordings received rave reviews with impressive sales and increasingly regular performances in jazz clubs. The quartet began to play numerous concerts on college campuses around the country, exposing their art to a new and quite enthusiastic audience. Dave Brubeck and the Quartet became so popular that they made the cover of a Times Magazine article on November 8, 1954. At the time, this was only the second time that such an accolade had been given to a jazz musician, Louis Armstrong being the first.
In 1955, Brubeck signed with Columbia Records, the most prestigious American record company, and released his first album for the label: Brubeck Time, a few months later. The Dave Brubeck Quartet became the most popular jazz group in the United States and in 1959, one of the group's most ambitious projects was released: Time Out. While Columbia was very reluctant to release the album, which they considered too difficult for the general public to understand, it became the first jazz album to sell a million copies. The band became an international sensation, with the State Department even arranging for them to perform in places rarely visited by jazz artists, such as Poland, Turkey, India, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka.
The end of a career and the beginning of a hegemony
During the 50s and 60s, very few American jazz artists had as strong an influence as Dave Brubeck. By putting forward unusual time signatures and adventurous tones. Dave Brubeck proved to everyone that ambitious and challenging music could be accessible and understood by anyone. At a time when rock and roll dominated the popular music landscape in the 1960s, he was perhaps the most important jazz artist of all. He is perhaps the most honored jazz artist of his generation with awards from Bill Clinton: National Medal of the Arts in 1994 and Barack Obama: Kennedy Center Honors in 2009. Dave Brubeck even has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a Grammy from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for his gigantic career. He also receives the Smithsonian Medal and numerous honorary degrees from universities in five different countries.
Dave Brubeck passed away at the age of 91 from heart failure in late 2012, the day before his 92nd birthday. His life as well as his work have been celebrated worldwide.
“Once when asked how I would like to be remembered, I answered, “As someone who opened doors.”
OUR HAPPY MUSIC LOVERS