BESAME MUCHO
DAVE
BRUBECK
SONGWRITER: CONSUELO VELÁSQUEZ
INSTRUMENT: PIANO
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: ON TIME
LABEL: SMSP
GENRE: JAZZ
YEAR: 1967
David Warren Brubeck(/ˈbruːbɛk/; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an
American jazz pianist and composer, considered one of the foremost exponents of
cool jazz. He wrote a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own
Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranged from refined to bombastic,
reflecting both his mother's attempts at classical training and his own
improvisational skills. His music is known for employing
unusual time signatures as well as superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters,
and tonalities.
Brubeck experimented with
time signatures throughout his career, recording "Pick Up Sticks" in 6/4,
"Unsquare Dance" in 7/4, "World's Fair" in 13/4, and "Blue
Rondo à la Turk" in 9/8. He was also a composer of orchestral and sacred
music and wrote soundtracks for television, such as Mr. Broadway and the
animated miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown.
Often incorrectly attributed
to Brubeck, the song "Take Five", which has become a jazz standard,
was composed by Brubeck's long-time musical partner, alto saxophonist Paul
Desmond. Appearing on one of the top-selling jazz albums, Time Out, and written
in 5/4 time, "Take Five" has endured as a jazz classic associated
with Brubeck.
Dave Brubeck was born in
the San Francisco Bay Area city of Concord, California, and grew up in a city
located in the Mother Lode called Ione, California. His father, Peter Howard
"Pete" Brubeck, was a cattle rancher, and his mother, Elizabeth (née
Ivey), who had studied piano in England under Myra Hess and intended to become
a concert pianist, taught piano for extra money.
His father had Swiss
ancestry (the family surname was originally Brodbeck) and possibly Native
American Modoc lineage, while his maternal grandparents were English and
German. Brubeck originally did not intend to become a musician (his two older
brothers, Henry and Howard, were already on that track), but took lessons from
his mother. He could not read music during these early lessons, attributing
this difficulty to poor eyesight, but "faked" his way through well
enough that this deficiency went mostly unnoticed.
Intending to work with his
father on their ranch, Brubeck entered the College of the Pacific in Stockton,
California (now the University of the Pacific), studying veterinary science. He
changed to music on the urging of the head of zoology, Dr. Arnold, who told him
"Brubeck, your mind's not here. It's across the lawn in the conservatory. Please go
there. Stop wasting my time and yours." Later, Brubeck
was nearly expelled when one of his professors discovered that he could not read
music on sight. Several of his professors came forward, arguing that his
ability to write counterpoint and harmony more than compensated, and
demonstrated his familiarity with music notation. The college was still afraid
that it would cause a scandal, and agreed to let Brubeck graduate only after he
had promised never to teach piano.