Tidbits: RIP--Dave Brubeck (December 5, 2012)

I see that jazz great Dave Brubeck died today, a day shy of his 92nd birthday. A long and full life. He performed into his late 80s, I understand. He's best remembered for his album Time Out (1959) famous for its use of odd time signatures (for jazz at least) and for the track "Take Five," in particular. "Take Five" is in 5/4 time, "Blue Rondo a la Turk" in 9/8 time. He's also often remembered as being the first modern jazz musician to be on the cover of TIME Magazine. I was always impressed by his humility when chosen for the cover. He rightly believed there were more deserving musicians who were black (like Duke Ellington). He was, in fact, deeply embarrassed to have been the first modern jazz musician on the cover of TIME (I base this on an interview of him I once saw in which he said as much).

Music I'm Listening To: More Jazz--Neil Buckley Octet, Santa Rosa (May 24, 2010)

More really good jazz tonight--this time the Neil Buckley Octet at Gaia's Garden, 1899 Mendocino Ave., in Santa Rosa. This group plays 1950s West Coast-style cool jazz. Very entertaining. The group was really together tonight, and they kept getting better as the night progressed. The show was over much too quickly. The Octet played to a very appreciative, nearly-full house.

The Octet included: David Schrader (alto and tenor sax), Chris Calley (tenor sax), Jim Passarell (trumpet), Carl Bowers (sitting in on trombone for regular trombonist Ned Herrin), John Howard (baritone sax), Steve della Maggiora (guitar), Bill Amatneek (bass), and Pat O'Connell (drums). Pat O'Connell leads the group.

Music I'm Listening To: Jazz in Sonoma (May 21, 2010)

Great jazz in Sonoma tonight. I went to hear the Larry Vuckovich Quartet in a show at the Plaza Bistro in Sonoma sponsored by the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society. It's amazing the caliber of musicians this group seems to get. This was as good as any live jazz I've ever heard anywhere. Larry Vuckovich on keyboards, Erik Jekabson on trumpet and flugelhorn, Peter Barshay on bass, and Bill Moody on drums. Good food and a wonderfully crisp bottle of 2009 Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc that smelled of passion fruit and tasted like coconuts--reminiscent of wines I've tasted from Rias Baixas in Spain. Excellent all around.