Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck (1920–2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose career spanned more than six decades. He studied counterpoint under Darius Milhaud at Mills College and briefly under Arnold Schoenberg, experiences that pulled his playing toward the classical and experimental end of the spectrum. He formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951, which became one of the most commercially successful small groups in jazz history. The quartet’s 1959 album Time Out — recorded for Columbia Records — was built entirely around unusual time signatures and became the first jazz album to sell over a million copies. The track “Take Five,” written by saxophonist Paul Desmond, remains one of the most recognized instrumentals ever recorded.

Beyond Time Out, Brubeck continued to push at the edges of jazz structure throughout his career, incorporating odd meters like 9/8 and 11/4 at a time when 4/4 was virtually universal in popular music. He was also an early and vocal advocate for racial integration in live performance, canceling concerts rather than comply with demands to replace Black musicians in his group. Later in his career he composed large-scale choral and orchestral works rooted in his Catholic faith. He performed and recorded actively well into his 80s, releasing his final album in 2010, two years before his death at 91.