Tag jazz

Goodbye Dave.

I don't know why, it could be the cold weather or just coincidental, but December is fast becoming the month so many good Jazz and Blues musicians of ol' pass away. Oscar Peterson, for example, in 2007. Or James Brown a year earlier. This time it's Dave Brubeck. 'Take Five' is the piece most identify him with, and 'popular' doesn't even begin to describe its appeal and success --- recognizable by so many generations in the fifty one or so years of its existence. Yet his work goes well beyond than this single track that everyone feels so familiar with. After all, who, in their right mind, could possibly forget 'It's a Raggy Waltz', 'Blue Rondo A La Turk' or 'Take The A Train'. Dave was undoubtedly one of the great pioneers of his time.

Oscar is gone.

Oscar Peterson, one of the great Jazz pianists of the latter half of the 20th century and a marvellous pianist in general, died today. I was first exposed to his work by listening to Eloquence. My last musical encounter of his work was his 1994 album Side by Side, with Itzhak Perlman, a record full of covers of old american classics, recorded in a few days, without rehearsals and mostly consisting of the first takes. His death is a huge loss to the jazz community and a reminder that his generation, those largely responsible for what jazz is all about, is gradually passing away.