Dave Brubeck Dies At 91
Jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck, whose pioneering style in pieces such as “Take Five†caught listeners’ ears with exotic, challenging rhythms, has died. He was 91. Brubeck died Wednesday morning of heart failure after being stricken while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son Darius. Brubeck had a career that spanned almost all American jazz since World War II. He formed The Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951 and was the first modern jazz musician to be pictured on the cover of Time magazine – on Nov. 8, 1954 – and he helped define the swinging, smoky rhythms of 1950s and `60s club jazz.
The seminal album Time Out, released by the quartet in 1959, was the first ever million-selling jazz LP, and is still among the best-selling jazz albums of all time. It opens with “Blue Rondo a la Turk†in 9/8 time – nine beats to the measure instead of the customary two, three or four beats.
