IT'S ABOUT TIME: DAVE BRUBECK (Paperback)

~ FRED HALL (Author)

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From Library Journal

Pianist and composer Dave Brubeck led a jazz quartet that produced the pop hit "Take Five" and achieved acclaim during the 1950s and 1960s. Hall, a veteran radio broadcaster, writes a fan's account of Brubeck's personal journey from boyhood up through international celebrity. Through interviews with Brubeck and others, we hear tales of "life on the road," meet Bru's peers, and learn something about his music, mostly about his later orchestral works. Questions about Brubeck's entire musical corpus and its place in jazz are better answered in Ilse Storb's Dave Brubeck: Improvisations and Compositions (Peter Lang, 1994). Hall's discography lists American-issued recordings but excludes the many European releases and reissues. Appropriate for general audiences.?Paul Baker, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: University of Arkansas Press; annotated edition edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557284059
• ISBN-13: 978-1557284051
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #559,550 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars About Time, indeed!, March 30, 2000

By	Tom (NY) - See all my reviews

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It's somewhat surprising, given the tremendous number of jazz biographies published in the last thirty years or so, that is it took so long for a definitive tome about the life of one of the most popular jazz musicians of all time. There are, perhaps, many reasons why this is so. Firstly, Bru has always been a bit hard to categorize; "serious" jazz musicians have been known to eschew his music as too "pop," too hook-oriented; others (this book included) point to his background in classical music as evidence of an artist too singular to sit comfortably aside many of his contemporaries (stylistically, he borders more often on Ravel than, say, Miles Davis). Another reason why perhaps it took so long for this book to appear is that, as compared to many of his contemporaries in the West Coast Jazz scene, Bru's life was relatively tame; he didn't suffer from harrowing addictions, or spend time in prison. Brubeck's life was more that of a working musician and a family man. On the other hand, as this book clearly indicates, his life was anything but ordinary. Brubeck's Columbia recordings, featuring his trademark multiple-meter compositions, probably reached the ears of more Americans than any other jazz musician of his time. His frequent international travel brought him into contact with a wide range of musical styles and idioms, which he incorporated brilliantly into his music. Perhaps best of all, and a major focus of the latter part of this book, Bru raised a family of sons who have continued to build on his legacy, while forging jazz voices of their own. "It's About Time" chronicles the height of Bru's popularity in the 50's and 60's, follows through with his experimental forays into classical music in the 70's, and generally presents a well-rounded portrait of an artist who reflected the optimism of his generation. It features a much-appreciated - and comprehensive - discography of Bru's recordings, and a reasonable amount of analysis of Bru's artistry. If there's anything I'd have liked more of, it would be more discussion of Brubeck's artistic process, and a more in-depth analysis of his compositions. Perhaps that's the next book that needs to be written. I would recommend this book very highly to fans of Dave Brubeck. To those less familiar with his work, I'd say, buy a copy of "Time Out," "Time Further Out," and "Time in Outer Space" first - then, read the book.