Three years ago last week we lost a symbol of American music, Dave Brubeck, one day before his ninety-second birthday. Brubeck was a pianist and composer who helped make jazz popular in the 50s and 60s, and who’s song “Take Five” is one of the most recognizable jazz songs ever recorded.
With the anniversary of his passing, I was reminded that I had interviewed him twice, first in the late seventies when I was working at KWMU. He was in St. Louis for a performance at Our Lady of The Snows in Belleville, Illinois. The second time I interviewed him, the one you’ll hear in this podcast, was in 1982 when I was on staff at KSHO in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was there to perform a concert with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
In this interview, Dave goes into great detail on subjects including his compositions, musicians he’s worked with, the state of music during that time — most of which is relevant today — insights into performing in Asia and in Europe, and jazz festivals.
Our conversation begins with him describing the concert he was about to perform at the Honolulu International Center.
Brubeck was a 2009 Kennedy Center Honor recipient. I must say that interviewing Dave Brubeck was one of the highlights of my broadcasting career.