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Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

nytimes.com

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Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#61

Post by DigitalSea »

twstws wrote: post #58
DigitalSea wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly you're right. The world was a bad place back then, extraordinarily decent people living in an indecent society. I like to think Brubeck amongst others contributed to the demise of segregation and the basis of our modern integrated society. He was an exceptional jazz musician and an all round great guy who was very grateful for what he had. There's no such thing these days as a real musician, Dave was part of a…

> There's no such thing these days as a real musician, Dave was part of a dying breed of people who got into music because they love what they do, not because they want to be famous or rich like modern day musicians. I think that says more about you than the state of modern musicians. There will always be 'real musicians', motivated by their love of the art. Whether or not we can find them depends on how willing we a…

Please see my other response. My comment was meant to be interpreted as most musicians who have "made it" these days aren't real musicians, it's all appearance and showmanship not musicianmanship. While there are some great musicians who are considered as having made it, there aren't many and in a world where people still think Slash is the worlds greatest guitarist it's obvious famous musicians who appreciate their art, the fans and what they have are a dying breed.

There will always be real musicians around, but I purely meant those who have made it not those who do the 9-5 hustle and bustle in the Subway's playing for change or smaller venues for $50 and a bar tab.

Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#64

Post by mjn »

leothekim wrote: post #22

Dave Brubeck took a stand against racism and would refuse to play in segregated venues. He turned down offers to perform in South Africa because of ordinances that prohibited racially mixed groups. He apparently started one the first racially integrated bands in the U.S. army during WW II. We lost a musical genius and a good human being.

I like an anecdote of his [1] about trying to perform in the South: ended up having to cancel 23 of the 25 performances, but did manage to push two through, which in his view only ran up against official opposition enforcing the rules they thought they were supposed to enforce, not opposition from anyone who actually attended the performance on purpose.

Occasionally interesting to think that I'm the first generation where it was normal for a jazz band to have both white and black musicians. Very recent that the racists were beaten back.

[1] http://cordjefferson.tumblr.com/post/37269121387/all-these-r...

Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#65

Post by georgeorwell »

AlexMuir wrote: post #35
quasistar wrote: post #34

That the Brubeck obit is a Top 10 HN story puts a smile on my face ;) If you're in a jazzy mood tonite, I can strongly recommend the recent Shinichiro Watanbe anime "Kids on the Slope" (坂道のアポロン Sakamichi no Apollon). http://www.crunchyroll.com/kids-on-the-slope

Completely OT but I just don't get anime at all. What am I missing? I got 10 minutes through Episode 1 at that link expecting something to happen - nothing did. I don't even really follow the storyline - a wimpy kid who can only stop himself throwing up by running onto the school roof. It's like cryptic crosswords, god and football matches - I must be missing a part of the brain.

That's just representative of the "slice of life" genre, not anime as a whole. I'd say try Cowboy Bebop, it's the same director, same composer, but this time it's a bounty hunter space opera with a jazz score. It often gets compared to Firefly. It doesn't seem to be on Crunchyroll but it's widely available.

Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#66

Post by zevyoura »

DigitalSea wrote: post #59
SoftwareMaven wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree completely. I wouldn't have had a clue who Dave Brubeck was, if it wasn't for my son, who is a musician in the classical sense through and through. He has no illusions that his Jazz horn is going to make him rich. He does it because he loves it, and I know he's not alone.

My comment was taken out of context. My point was most musicians who get to the top of the charts these days take what they have for granted, it's all a show and they aren't real musicians. Of course there will always be people like your son who do what they do because they love music, not because they have hopes of being famous. Don't be confused, I wasn't refering to everyone who plays an instrument, just those con…

What makes you think that this is a modern issue, or has worsened over time?

Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#67

Post by leothekim »

officemonkey wrote: post #53
leothekim wrote: post #22

Dave Brubeck took a stand against racism and would refuse to play in segregated venues. He turned down offers to perform in South Africa because of ordinances that prohibited racially mixed groups. He apparently started one the first racially integrated bands in the U.S. army during WW II. We lost a musical genius and a good human being.

Benny Goodman was the first Bandleader that integrated his orchestra and small groups in the 1930s. Goodman's quartet feathered Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton. I'm not saying Brubeck didn't do it, but he certainly wasn't the first.

Sorry, my wording was ambiguous. I meant to say that he founded one of the first racially integrated bands in the US armed forces.

http://www.pbs.org/brubeck/theMan/cowboyToJazzman.htm

Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#68

Post by DigitalSea »

zevyoura wrote: post #66
DigitalSea wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My comment was taken out of context. My point was most musicians who get to the top of the charts these days take what they have for granted, it's all a show and they aren't real musicians. Of course there will always be people like your son who do what they do because they love music, not because they have hopes of being famous. Don't be confused, I wasn't refering to everyone who plays an instrument, just those con…

What makes you think that this is a modern issue, or has worsened over time?

What are two advances that have revolutionised music? The Internet and computing. Computing is responsible for causing what I believe to be a very modern issue. Anyone with a Macbook and copy of Protools or Garage Band is a producer these days. Heck, you can record and compose music on your phone nowadays, create a Myspace, Last.fm or Soundcloud account and get your music out to thousands of people.

Once upon a time to get somewhere you had to tour, you had to get the attention of someone at a label to recognise you who was willing to take you on. Hard work used to be the basis of popular music, then it all started going downhill in the 80's with the likes of MTV slowly corrupting modern music.

An excellent case in point is an Australian band called Capture The Crown. They have never released an EP, never toured Australia, all they did was come out of nowhere with an attention grabbing music clip and well-produced song with swearing and generic breakdowns, they released a couple of more singles and now they're signed to Sumerian Records and about to release their debut album all without ever touring their own country and to this day, still haven't. They got on a plane and toured the US instead of touring their own country first unlike other well-known Australian bands like Parkway Drive or Hands Like Houses.

Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#69

Post by MartinCron »

GaryGapinski wrote: post #44
blankenship wrote: post #21

I’m 33. I "discovered" Brubeck four or five years ago, primarily wearing out Jazz Impressions of New York while looking to detox a bit from a year of Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis. In April 2011 my wife and I took a train from South Carolina to Washington D.C. to catch one of Dave's four sold out shows at Blues Alley. I paid more money than I had ever paid to see a concert, knowing this would likely be my only chance…

Glad to hear it. Discovery is always a lot of fun, regardless of latency. Don't stop there. There were/are many good musicians performing excellent work from the 1950s and 60s on. Please keep looking. I'll mention just a few I consider deserving of attention (and this is by no means comprehensive): Yusef Lateef, John Coltrane, Eddie Palmieri, Sun Ra, Oliver Nelson, John Hicks, Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson, Cal Tjader,…

I just saw Dick Dale, legendary surf guitarist for similar reasons. He's no Bruebeck, but a national treasure nonetheless.

Re: Dave Brubeck, Who Helped Put Jazz Back in Vogue, Dies at 91

#70

Post by georgeorwell »

georgeorwell wrote: post #65
AlexMuir wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely OT but I just don't get anime at all. What am I missing? I got 10 minutes through Episode 1 at that link expecting something to happen - nothing did. I don't even really follow the storyline - a wimpy kid who can only stop himself throwing up by running onto the school roof. It's like cryptic crosswords, god and football matches - I must be missing a part of the brain.

That's just representative of the "slice of life" genre, not anime as a whole. I'd say try Cowboy Bebop, it's the same director, same composer, but this time it's a bounty hunter space opera with a jazz score. It often gets compared to Firefly. It doesn't seem to be on Crunchyroll but it's widely available.

Also, Kids on the Slope is pretty good, if the idea of a jazz tribute coming of age innocent high school soap opera is appealing. Thanks quasistar.
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