Dave Brubeck

I have seen Dave Brubeck three times and one time would probably have been enough. It’s not that he doesn’t put on a good show. He has an engaging presence and he really makes you feel, as a member of the audience, that you are taking part in something that he is glad to be doing. (I say ‘glad’ because, personally, I don’t think I could play ‘Take Five’ every performance and maintain my faith in God.) I just feel as though every Dave Brubeck performance is generally the same.
If you didn’t know, he plays ‘Take Five’ every performance—along with most of his other standards: ‘Blue Rondo’, ‘Three to Get Ready’. But as Lewis said, Dave really is a mensch. (His parents must be kvelling in their graves.) He’s a mensch in this respect because, really, he doesn’t have to play ‘Take Five’ every show. People would still come to see him. He is an institution. He does it because, really, it’s what people want to see. And by people, I mean the people who are not jazz geeks—the people who know a little about Brubeck and have no idea that ‘Time Out’ came out the same year as ‘Giant Steps’, ‘Ah-Um’, ‘Kind of Blue’, or ‘The Shape of Jazz to Come’.
Dave might not be playing conventional solos at his shows—but who the hell is going to notice? Nostalgia is a recurring theme in jazz-talk. When people go see Brubeck, I have a feeling he’s regarded as more of an old stand-by than an explorer of sound and harmony. It’s like going to see a Dixieland revival band or something—there’s not much of an emphasis on looking forward. (In Brubeck’s defense, I wouldn’t want to be looking too far forward if I were 90.)
But then again, it’s not like he’s complacent or smug. He probably has more energy than a sixteen-year-old boy when he plays, and his excitement at shows really comes through. He really seems to be a happy guy, unregretful, and it’s nice to see that. (I don’t know if it’s the Catholicism, or the choral music, but whatever.)
And I have a feeling that his happiness is apparent because he’s spent his whole life doing what he thinks is right for himself and his music. I may not be helping the myth of Brubeck, but I honestly think that this is true.
I don’t want to get sentimental (an easy thing to do when talking about Brubeck and listening to him talk.) But looking back, maybe I shouldn’t regret seeing Brubeck so many times—I bet he wouldn’t if he were in my place.