08.11.10 | REVIEW FROM NEWPORT AUGUST 8, 2010

06.17.10 | REVIEW FROM BLUE NOTE IN NEW YORK CITY
Please click here for a very unique review of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's second show at the Blue Note on Saturday, June 12

05.21.10 | COMPOSERS DATEBOOK STORY ON "PANGE LINGUA VARIATIONS"
May 21 marks the 27th anniversary of the premier of Dave's "Pange Lingua Variations", which occurred at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California. Please click for the Composers Datebook broadcast heard on American Public Radio.

04.29.10 | CONCORD MUSIC GROUP RE-RELEASES "JAZZ AT OBERLIN"
Concord Music Group, through its Original Jazz Classics label, has just re-released the 1953 classic "Jazz At Oberlin". With a brilliant remastering using 24 bit technology and an essay by noted jazz historian Ashley Kahn, this is a true collector's edition. Please click here to go directly to the Concord page featuring "Jazz At Oberlin"

04.22.10 | US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HONORS DAVE BRUBECK
Please click here to read House Resolution 1283 submitted by Congressman Paul Hodes, Second District, New Hampshire, honoring Dave Brubeck.

03.22.10 | SMITHSONIAN JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH FEATURES DAVE BRUBECK
The 2010 Jazz Appreciation Month portrait of Dave Brubeck was created by artist LeRoy Neiman to celebrate Brubeck's Jazz legacy. Please click here for the link to the Smithsonian site for more information.

02.16.10 | 2009 KENNEDY CENTER HONOREES AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Please click here for the video of the White House reception that took place just prior to the Awards Gala on December 6, 2009.

02.08.10 | SIR JOHN DANKWORTH
We are very sad to report that jazz great and Brubeck Institute Honorary Board member Sir John Dankworth died on Saturday, 6th February in London. The night of his death was the 40th anniversary gala of the performance venue "The Stables". Located in Milton Keynes (45 minutes from of London), The Stables was the result of the vision of Sir John and Dame Cleo Lane to provide a center of musical activity which would break down barriers between music genres and introduce music to as many people as possible regardless of age or social background. Please click here for a truly remarkable story from The Guardian reporting on how his death was dealt with at this gala.

02.03.10 | 2010 BRUBECK FESIVAL ANNOUNCED
Please click here for information and schedule for the 2010 Brubeck Festival at the University of the Pacific

02.02.10 | REPORT FROM THE 2010 GRAMMY AWARDS
The 2010 Grammy Awards program was held on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. A total of 109 awards were handed out, with 99 awards presented in what is called the Pre-Telecast ceremony, with the remaining 10 awards presented during the 3-½ hour telecast. Dave was directly or indirectly involved with several nominations. In the “Classical Crossover” category, the winner was Yo-Yo Ma for “Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace”. Dave performed with Yo-Yo on two tracks, along with Dave’s son Matthew Brubeck on cello: “Concordia” and ”Joy To The World”. Interestingly enough, the great Cuban jazz clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera also performed on “Joy To The World” even though his own album was one of the nominees for the same category. And no, Dave does not receive a Grammy, as an artist has to be on at least 50% of all the tracks to qualify.

Also in the Classical Crossover category was “QSF Plays Brubeck”. QSF is a string quartet based in San Francisco (hence the name “QSF”) that arranged many of Dave’s compositions (as well as “Take Five”) to fit their group. In addition to “Classical Crossover”, the CD was nominated (but did not win) for Best Engineering-Classical”.

In the “Large Jazz Ensemble” category, the 1:00 Lab Band from the University of North Texas was nominated for “Lab 2009”. One of the tracks is Dave’s composition “Here Comes McBride”, written for jazz bassist Christian McBride. The winner in this category was the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.

Good friend and jazz vocalist Kurt Elling was the co-host for the Pre-Telecast event and himself was a winner in the Jazz Vocal category for his album “Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Singe The Music OF Coltrane And Hartman”. Kurt sang the role of “Doc” for the premiere of Dave and Iola Brubeck’s jazz opera “Cannery Row Suite” at the 2006 Monterey Jazz Festival. Singer Roberta Gambarni also was nominated in the same category. Roberta sang the role of “Dora” at the “Cannery Row Suite” premiere. Winning for “Best Surround Sound” Album was Elaine Martone (producer) and Michael Bishop (engineer) for “Transmigration” recorded with the Atlanta Symphony. Elaine was the co-producer for the live Telarc recording of Dave’s mass “To Hope! A Celebration” at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Michael was the engineer on the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Telarc CD “So What’s New?” and “Into The Light” with the Cincinnati Symphony that included Dave’s orchestral suite from “Joy In The Morning”, also on Telarc.

Two producers that have been associated with Dave Brubeck were nominated for “Producer Of The Year-Classical”: James Mallinson and David Frost. James produced the “LSO Live” CD recorded for Dave’s 80th birthday celebration with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2000. In 2002 James was the producer for the two Telarc CD recording of “Classical Brubeck” that was recorded with the London Symphony at famed Abbey Road Studios. David Frost was the producer for the 2002 Naxos CD recording of “Gates Of Justice” recorded with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.

The 3-½ hour Grammy telecast was sheer torture to sit through. The one redeeming moment was when Dave's old friend and legendary jazz trumpeter Clark Terry was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This is the same award that Dave received in 1996.

01.31.10 | QUARTET SAN FRANCISCO INTERVIEW ON NPR JANUARY 31, 2010
Please click here to listen to the Quartet San Francisco interview on NPR just prior to the Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010

12.03.09 | 52nd ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS INCLUDES DAVE BRUBECK
On December 2, 2009 the 52 annual Grammy Award nominations were released, and Dave Brubeck is included TWICE. Both listings are in Category 107, Best Classical Crossover Album. The first is for the album "QSF Plays Brubeck", recorded by the Quartet San Francisco featuring string quartet arrangements of eleven of Dave's compositions, including "Take Five", "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "The Golden Horn". The second listing is for the Yo-Yo Ma album "Songs of Joy and Peace", where Dave appears with Yo-Yo and cellist son Matthew Brubeck on two tracks: "Joy To The World" (along with Paquito d'Rivera) and "Concordia". The awards program will be televised live from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 31, 2010 on CBS.

11.24.09 | DARIUS BRUBECK BLOG "50 YEARS ON"
Darius Brubeck has created this website which features a mixture of musical insights, previously unseen photographs and discourse on jazz from 1959 to present day.

11.23.09 | WINTER 2009 NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE. GO TO DBQ NEWSLETTER

09.18.09 | BBC World presents Dave Brubeck: A Jazz Legend

09.10.09 | DAVE BRUBECK TO RECEIVE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS
It was announced Wednesday that Dave Brubeck will be one of five recipients of the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors. The weekend of December 5 and 6 will include a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary Clinton, a White House reception hosted by President Obama and the first lady, and the Gala program at the Opera House of the Kennedy Center. The White House reception and the Gala will occur on December 6, Dave's 89th birthday! The Gala will be videotaped for a December 29 broadcast on CBS.

Here is what Dave had to say:

When I graduated from high school in 1938 my mother wrote into her diary: “I think there is some hope for David after all.” I wish my mother and dad and my two older brothers would have lived long enough to witness this incredible event. I feel surprised, proud and humbled to receive such a high honor.

The other awardees are: Mel Brooks, opera star Grace Bumbry, Robert de Niro and Bruce Springsteen.

For more information, please click on the Kennedy Center link.

08.10.09 | Newport 2009
To see pictures from George Wein's Jazz Festival 55 from Newport RI please click on the "Gallery" tab

06.13.09 | Dave Brubeck Interview on NPR June 12, 2009
Click to get to the NPR interview broadcast June 12, 2009 concerning the 50th anniversary of "Time Out". Also check out the bonus feature of Dave talking about "The Real Ambassadors."

06.02.09 | SONY RELEASES 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF "TIME OUT"
On May 26, 2009 Sony released a special 50th Anniversary edition of the classic recording "Time Out" that consists of three separate disks. Disk #1 is a newly remastered CD of the original recording, direct from the session tapes using state of the art equipment. Disk #2 is a 30 minute DVD of Dave discussing the making of "Time Out" which includes never before seen historical footage. Disk #3 is a compilation from the Newport Jazz Festival of recently discovered tapes from 1961, 1963 and 1964. Also included is a fascinating retrospective written by Ted Gioia, author of "West Coast Cool".

To order directly from Amazon, please click on "Launch related site".

05.07.09 | Summer-Fall Newsletter Now Available
For the latest newsletter please go to the DBQ Newsletter section, click on "launch", then click on the photo of Dave with Wynton Marsalis

04.03.09 | World Premier of "Ansel Adams America" by Dave and Chris Brubeck featured on "All Things Considered"
Listen to "All Things Considered" from April 2

01.21.09 | Photos from the Kennedy Center on January 19, 2009 now posted under "Gallery"

01.09.09 | California Hall Of Fame
To see pictures from the California Hall Of Fame ceremony in Sacramento, California on December 15 please click on the "Gallery" tab

11.20.08 | Dave Brubeck honored at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, DC
On November 19 Dave Brubeck received a crystal globe award and an unusual gift--a balalaika-- from the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation at a gala event held at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, D.C. The event honoring Dave Brubeck was hosted by Ambassador and Mrs. Sergei Kislyak and included a formal reception and dinner. Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Dana Gioia, spoke of the intercultural relationships between Russia and America in the 20th century, citing Balanchine and his influence on American ballet, Chekhov and Stanislavsky’s influence on American theater with the “method” school of acting, along with the world wide influence of Russian composers such as Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Master of ceremonies for the evening program, the Hon. James Symington introduced the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet from the University of the Pacific, who performed, along with the Open World Russian jazz quartet, current participants in the Open World Program of cultural exchange. The Russian musicians have been guests of the Brubeck Institute in Stockton, CA, participating in the Institute program of jazz studies. Previous honorees have been cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, pianist Van Cliburn, choreographer Igor Moiseyev, translator of American literature Tatiana Kuriavsleva, Librarian of Congress and Russian scholar James Bilington and conductor Valery Gergiev.

10.16.08 | Dave and Matthew Brubeck Featured On Yo Yo Ma's Holiday CD SOUNDS OF JOY AND PEACE
Dave Brubeck and his cellist son, Matt, join Yo Yo Ma on his new holiday release “Songs of Joy and Peace” (Sony CD and DVD). The world renowned classical cellist Yo Yo Ma, in previous recordings and concert appearances, has explored global music with his Silk Road project. Yo Yo Ma envisioned this new project as a musical house party in which top artists from various genres of music join him in performing music with the themes of joy and peace. The Gregorian chant “Concordia Laetitia”, which translates as “sounds of joy”, arranged for two cellos, piano and percussion by Matt Brubeck, caused Martin Steinberg in the Washington Post to write, “Some of the songs are wondrous such as a jazzed up version of the Gregorian chant Concordi Laetitia by Matt and Dave Brubeck”. The Brubecks also join clarinetist Paquito d’ Rivera and Yo Yo Ma in Dave’s arrangement of “Joy to the World”. Some of the other artists on the album are James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, Renee Fleming, Chris Botti and Natalie Mac Master, with whom Matt has performed on tour. To learn more about this new album visit http://www.yo-yoma.com.

10.07.08 | Dave Brubeck Receives The Prestigious "Friends Of Charlie Parker" award in New York City
Dave Brubeck was honored by Veritas at the 20th annual Friends of Charlie Parker gala held at Hotel Pierre in New York City on October 7. The widow of the legendary Charlie “Bird” Parker and the late jazz legends of his era, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson and Max Roach, established Veritas, a substance abuse therapeutic treatment organization, twenty years ago. The founders believed that had a facility like Veritas been available to Parker he might have lived beyond his untimely death at age 34. Saxophonist Jimmy Heath, also one of the founders, performed at Tuesday evening’s concert, as did Dave when he joined the alumni of the Brubeck Institute in a spirited rendition of “Blue Rondo a la Turk”.

Tenor saxophonist James Moody, who recalled touring with Dave in Japan and Europe and performing with him in the venerable Opera House in Vienna, made the formal presentation to Dave. In his acceptance remarks, Dave spoke of touring with Charlie Parker in the ‘50s and how Parker had to borrow Paul Desmond’s saxophone because he had pawned his own instrument. Then, one night, late in the tour, in Oakland, California, Parker gave such a stunning performance that Brubeck said, “ I then knew what a great genius he was, because it was more than I ever heard from any one man. So you can see what certain things can do, even to the greatest. I went through a lot with Charlie over the years. Wonderful, decent man—but for the thing that can destroy you far too early. I’m here in memory of Charlie and to honor the greatness he’s given to all of us.”

.The Brubeck Fellows quintet, (Glenn Zaleski, Chris Smith, Cory Cox, Lucas Pino and Brian Chauley) alumni of the Brubeck Institute at University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA opened the evening’s program that was hosted by Phil Schaap. Comedian and actor Chevy Chase spoke of the important role jazz played in his life, and Darius Brubeck read a tribute from Chick Corea. Roberta Gambarini sang Dave’s classic “In Your Own Sweet Way”. Each year the concert brings together some of the most respected names in music to honor the legacy of Charlie Parker. Among the great musicians who contributed their talents during the evening program were singer Diane Reeves and guitarist Romero Lubambo, trumpeters Nicholas Payton and Roy Hargove, saxophonists Don Braden and Dean Brewington, pianist Taylor Eigsti, bassists Todd Coolman and John Patitucci.

04.28.08 | Dave Brubeck Receives the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy
On April 8, 2008 at the U.S. Department of State, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice honored the recipients of the inaugural Benjamin Franklin Awards for Public Diplomacy. The awardees were chosen for their outstanding leadership in advancing America's ideals through public diplomacy by offering a positive vision of hope and opportunity rooted in America's belief in freedom, justice, opportunity and respect for all.

The Award

The creation of the Benjamin Franklin Awards for Public Diplomacy was announced by Secretary of State Rice in January 2007 at the Private Sector Summit on Public Diplomacy to recognize that all sectors of American society - individuals, schools, foundations, associations, and corporations - actively contribute to advancing America's ideals through public diplomacy. The awards highlight that solutions to the challenges of the 21st century will come from these sectors working together to empower, educate, and inspire key audiences such as women, youth, and educators; and to engage with under-served communities and grassroots organizations both in the United States and abroad.

This new award program is the most prestigious honor that the Department of State can bestow on American citizens who are making outstanding contributions to public diplomacy. The awards were presented in four categories: individuals, corporations, academic institutions, and not-for-profit organizations.

Individual Category Award Winner: Dave Brubeck

As a pianist, composer, cultural emissary and educator, Dave Brubeck's life's work exemplifies the best of America's cultural diplomacy. Declared a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, his career has spanned seven decades, giving thousands of concerts and devoting countless hours to introducing the language of jazz to new generations around the world. In 2000, the University of the Pacific founded the Brubeck Institute to honor two of its most famous alumni, Dave and his wife Iola. The mission of the Institute is to build on Dave Brubeck's legacy and his lifelong dedication to music, creativity, education, and the advancement of important social issues including civil rights, environmental concerns, international relations, and social justice. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Dave Brubeck's first tour for the Department of State. We recognize Dave Brubeck for offering a positive vision of hope, opportunity and freedom through a musical language that is truly American.

Winners in other categories include the following:

- Non-Profit Organization: Search for Common Ground
- Academic Institution: University of Southern California
- Corporation: Johnson & Johnson

The Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy is managed by the Office of Private Sector Outreach for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, which was established in 2005 to engage U.S. businesses, universities, foundations, and private citizens in the critical work of public diplomacy. To nominate a candidate for the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy or to discuss potential partnerships, email us at diplomacyupdate@state.gov.

03.07.08 | DaveBrubeck.com now live!
Welcome to the new home of Dave Brubeck on the web - check back often for itinerary updates, new photos and recordings as they become available. Thank you for visiting!