Back in March of 2021, I had the incredible opportunity to talk with George Wein, jazz impresario and creator of the Newport Jazz Festival. I specifically talked to him about Dave Brubeck and his quartet, a subject he was more than happy to discuss. This is the last half of that interview. If you missed [...]
After talking about this interview for a few months, the Raggy Waltz staff has finally gotten around to transcribing and editing it, and now presents the first of two posts of my conversation with Mr. George Wein. After the conversation was over, Mr. Wein told me that he enjoyed talking about Dave Brubeck, and to [...]
Today is 5/4, aka Brubeck Day! While technically speaking, 5/4 Day should really be about Paul Desmond, since he was the one that wrote the 5/4 song that went to stardom, "Take Five" has become synonymous with the Dave Brubeck Quartet as a whole. As a result, we here at Raggy Waltz HQ always like [...]
I love when my different hobbies and interests intersect. Sometimes, this happens in pretty blatant ways, like my love of jazz colliding with my love of birds a la Charlie 'Bird' Parker. Occasionally, though, the overlap is more subtle and on a deeper level. Take Ivy, for instance. Ivy League style, that is. Mealtime at [...]
Yesterday, October 26th, the world of comedy lost one of its more original and trailblazing members when Mort Sahl passed away. At 94 years old, he had certainly seen a lot, and his acerbic wit and style of comedy was directed not only at daily observations and absurdities but at political figures. From the beginning [...]
To answer a question no doubt on many of your minds, no, this blog has not slipped into inactivity. This despite nary a peep from yours truly in months. Not to get too personal, but working as a nurse (on night shift, no less) during the past couple of years has been an experience, to [...]
Pianist, composer, arranger, and all-around nice guy Dave Brubeck was a remarkable individual and musician from the very beginning, and his life and music continues to be discussed today. Born December 6, 1920, this year would've been his 100th, yet despite passing away in 2012, his legacy and controversy has been celebrated in articles and [...]
The Dave Brubeck Quartet's continued to make waves in the jazz community in 1952, winning the first of numerous awards from jazz publications and appearing in serious discussions in those same publications. Fantasy continued to record and release music from the group. Dave Brubeck live, with Wyatt Ruther on bass, Herb Barman on drums, & [...]
This post is merely an explanation and an alert for the post I just published and for future posts. For almost a year, I've been working on a project near and dear to my heart, and that is the creation of a discography of the music of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. It's still a work [...]
Wrapping up the Brubeck Birthday series, I thought I'd finish with what I consider to be the Brubeck Quartet's best live album and one of the best live jazz albums of the 20th century. High praise, I know. Let's jump to the music then! À la musique! The Music The Tune: "Blue Rondo a la [...]
It's A Raggy Waltz 