We just had the Mass performed outside of Paris and therefore if you played that in that part of the world some of the people would have been aware of it. Then I’ll come to the nice conclusion that somebody has played this a lot on radio or television. The availability of a piece on record or CD makes it known in other countries and sometimes a piece will become something that’s played a lot, and I won’t even know that that’s happening until I go to that country and play a concert and people recognize it. Did you find at that time that your religious material was generally being more widely accepted with European audiences? Or was it accepted on both sides of the Atlantic?ĭave Brubeck: That is very hard to know. I notice that at the very beginning of that selection the audience applauds, indicating their familiarity with the piece. TW: “Sermon on the Mount” appears on the Live in Berlin album, which you recorded with Mulligan. It was a baritone solo he loved to play it on his baritone sax. “Sermon on the Mount” we’ve also used as a tune to improvise with the quartet. So, it’s the kind of thing you can do both with. “Forty Days” is a wonderful text to set and it’s a wonderful tune to improvise on. As I say in the above introduction, it got easier:ĭave Brubeck: Well, it’s usually the text. I tried asking my first question three different ways before he finally responded. The ellipses in the following interview do not indicate editing or omission rather, they indicate Brubeck’s moments of reflection.Īs the conversation began, I wasn’t sure Mr. Soon he was even thoughtful, frequently pausing before answering some of my questions. But his answers became increasingly thorough. His tone was terse as I introduced myself, and his responses to my first questions were almost monosyllabic. The pianist had nothing to prove and certainly did not need to be talking with me. But true to his word, when I called at the appointed time Dave Brubeck soon joined me on the line.Īs the telephone conversation began, I was nervous the subject seemed impatient. Even at the age of 89, the pianist was still composing, performing, and recording. The interview had been arranged so far in advance that I worried it might be cancelled because of Brubeck’s busy schedule. This religious piece would be followed in 1969 by another orchestral work, The Gates of Justice. Both of these Columbia albums are from 1968, a busy year that also saw Brubeck recording his “Oratorio for Today” entitled The Light in The Wilderness. Although never as popular as the original Quartet, this collaborative effort produced both fine concert recordings ( Compadres) and studio efforts ( Blues Roots). Before the following year was over, Brubeck had enlisted saxophonist Gerry Mulligan to join him for some concert and studio dates. Retirement from the concert stage was short-lived. The reason for the split was to give Brubeck an opportunity to concentrate on his writings, most of which were taking the form of religious compositions. This group recorded many albums and will be remembered by even the most casual music fan for their seminal hit, “Take Five.” Brubeck and Desmond performed and recorded together from the late 1940s until Brubeck disbanded the Quartet in December 1967. The pianist is most famous for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, featuring Paul Desmond on alto saxophone. In addition, the drums, piano, and bass all seem to serve a basic function of keeping rhythm in the piece, except for the improvised drum solo following the saxophone solo.Dave Brubeck left us nearly a year ago, but the man’s music lives on through his many records. While the piece seems to be performed at a faster tempo, the group still maintains a laid back, moderate groove vibe that it is notorious for. However, the most important instrument to define the rhythm is the piano, not only placing the strong beats on 1 and 4, but also changing from one chord to another on each strong beat (e.g. The drums play a significant role in maintaining the pulse for the time signature, especially as the first instrument to be played, setting the groove immediately. In the case of Take Five, the piece has a | 1 2 3 | 4 5 | feel, with beats 1 and 4 being the strong beats. This time signature is commonly counted/interpreted in two different ways: The piece is played in a 5/4 time signature, which at this time was not very common in the jazz community. Probably the most significant feature of Take Five is its unique rhythmic elements.
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