In his laudable desire to enlighten and convince, Clark describes many of Brubeck’s piano solos in detail. I am only half way through the book and am looking forward to continuing and finishing it, which might take some time, as there is so much more information to absorb.

This biography, written with love and passion, is a landmark document that is insightful and inspiring all in itself. By the time I was with Milhaud, I could hear that Kenton was putting different keys together and he was adventurous with rhythm-he'd obviously been studying Stravinsky. Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.In 1954 the pianist Dave Brubeck became the first jazz musician of the postwar generation to be featured on the cover of Time magazine, infuriating those who felt that this white middle-class Californian had no business taking the limelight from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie or Thelonious Monk, the true pioneers of an essentially African American music. By keeping the music at the centre, and interweaving the background of cultural, political and social change to illuminate the development of the music, Clark gives us a complete picture of the artist's life and work.

It was an album that could melt into the background or send people to the dance floor but which also revealed, and continues to reveal, further harmonic, timbral, and melodic subtleties with each careful listen. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. An honor bestowed by President Obama with the words: “You can’t understand America without understanding jazz, and you can’t understand jazz without understanding Dave Brubeck. I've loved Dave Brubeck for the last 40 years but this is the first biography I have read about the guy and I keep dipping into it. In the decades that followed, Brubeck remained the focus of controversy, even as his quartet’s albums – with their abstract-expressionist cover art by Joan Miró, Franz Kline and Sam Francis – became almost as ubiquitous a fixture in the homes of the upwardly mobile as a hostess trolley or coffee percolator.Also, if you have lingering doubts abouts Dave's Jazziness, listen to the fabulous gem (imho of course! Subsequent to discharge from the Army (1946) Dave was tutored by Milhaud at Mills College (Oakland). The brain, hopefully, grasps increasingly complex interrelationships between unrelated chords as our ears acquire a taste for a tarter and more aromatic harmonic palette. Clark reveals that the musicians were subject to an unusual set of printed “principles and aims” in which Brubeck detailed their individual roles and responsibilities with a bracing and slightly alarming clarity. A narrative densely packed with info (and gossip, maybe) about many of the jazz musicians of the 1950-1976 era + to a lesser extent 1976-2012.

Each chapter explores a different theme or aspect of Brubeck's life and music, illuminating the core of his artistry and genius. But finding a convincing fit for Brubeck’s legacy, one that reconciles his mass popularity with his advanced musical technique, has proved largely elusive. Publication dates are subject to change (although this is an extremely uncommon occurrence overall). Although I am not a musician and much of the technical discussion of Brubeck's music flew over my head, I enjoyed reading this book immensely.

Another episode reaccented the 3+3 of 6/8 to become the 2+2+2 of 3/4, a neat rhythmic pun to chew on as Brubeck's harmony feasted on another, more existential ambiguity: Was the music in the major or the minor? Brubeck received America’s top arts award, The Kennedy Center Honors in 2009 (along with Bruce Springsteen), which happened to coincide with Brubeck’s 89th birthday. Woven throughout are cameo appearances from a host of unlikely figures, from Sting, Ray Manzarek of The Doors, and Keith Emerson to John Cage, Leonard Bernstein, Harry Partch, and Edgard Varèse.

I suppose that for some readers this will be very simple and an excellent narrative, but I can't see it myself. But because counterpoint was so important to the way he thought, we all latched on to that and it became important to us. Brubeck opened up as never before, disclosing his unique approach to jazz; the heady days of his "classic" quartet in the 1950s-60s; hanging out with Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, and Miles Davis; and the many controversies that had dogged his 66-year-long career.Words and sentences spit and spin and swing, creating rhythms and harmonies worthy of Brubeck himself. Unlike many jazz musicians, he was a student of modern music pioneer Darius Milhaud and his compositions and playing always had one foot in the realm of modernism, with its polytonality. To my delight, Clark shows appreciation for all eras of Brubeck’s sixty-ish years in the public eye.