 Pianist-composer Dave Brubeck has become a jazz legend. The public's first awareness associated him with the intricate, lightly swinging sound known as West Coast Cool. His distinctive harmonic approach and daring improvisations generated excitement with both critics and fans. The Dave Brubeck Quartet became the sound that identified an era. By 1954 his picture had appeared on the cover of Time magazine along with a feature story heralding the rebirth of jazz. Dave Brubeck was born in Concord, California, December 6, 1920. Dave went to the College of the Pacific, in Stockton, California, as a pre-med student with the aim of becoming a veterinarian, but soon changed his major to music. Upon graduation, in 1942, he entered the armed services where he served under Patton in the European theater of operations. Upon his discharge, in 1946, Dave returned from Europe to study composition with the famous French composer Darius Milhaud. Following a near fatal swimming accident which incapacitated him for several months, Brubeck organized a quartet with an old friend, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. They were an inseparable team from 1951 to 1968, selling millions of records and winning dozens of jazz polls. The current version of the Dave Brubeck Quartet includes Randy Jones, drums; Jack Six, string bass; and Bill Smith, an original member of the 1947 Dave Brubeck Octet, clarinet. Over his long career, Dave Brubeck has received many honors. He was one of the first musicians to have a star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is a Duke Ellington Fellow at Yale University and holds six honorary doctorate degrees. In 1987 he received the Connecticut Arts Award, and was honored in 1988 at the American Eagle Award presented by the National Music Council. In 1989 he was inducted into the Pantheon of the Arts at University of the Pacific, and was cited by the French Government for his contribution to the arts. In April of 1990 Fairfield University honored him with the Gerard Manley Hopkins Award. In 1992 he was honored by the Connecticut Bar Association and Simon's Rock College for distinguished service. And in 1994 Mr. Brubeck was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton.
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