Here's some toe-tappin' SFW background music to make the afternoon drift by more pleasantly.
So I don't know Dave Brubeck. But I do know his grandson. Ben "Boots" Brubeck used to man the hot corner for the last iteration of the heralded northern Virginia softball dynasty known as the Angry Men. His was a solid bat and workmanlike glove, nothing flashy but better than most of what the Angries were providing in that era. What he can do, as the grandson of a musical genius, with a piano or an alto sax is beyond me. Ben's a good egg I haven't seen in quite a few years, but when the Teedge reached out to offer condolences, Ben responded with this:
Thanks, TJ. You should write about him on GTB and share the joy of his music with your readers.
This clip was one of his favorite moments in life. He was totally surprised by my Dad and uncles playing for him as part of the Kennedy Center Honors tribute. You can see him say "Sonofabitch" after the surprise, which was filmed on his birthday a few years ago. Jackie and I were lucky enough to go to the event. It was incredible. Awesome music. He was so proud.
Check out this video on YouTube:
Amen. Terrific video, and the best part of it has to be his appreciation for the event.
Here's to Dave Brubeck, here's to Boots, and here's to an amazing artist being recognized for his greatness in his own time. May we all experience such a tribute from family, friends, peers, and admirers before we bebop off to the great beyond. This quick-hitter blog salute is paltry and far from commensurate with the talent Mr. Brubeck displayed for many decades, but as Peter Buck said about the [excellent] song "Lightnin' Hopkins," "If it makes one kid check out a record [by him] then it was worth doing." Sounds about right to me.
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67 comments:
i insist you watch the kennedy center video. check out brubeck's reaction when his sons are introduced, as ben describes. his joy - it's remarkable.
i support the renaming of the hornets. go pelicans. pellicanes, too.
NBA.com can sell Pelican briefs!!
rootsminer (aka Rootsy Collins) and I took a jazz class to satisfy some Area I requirements and we listened to a bunch of Brubeck. "Take Five" is written in 5/8 time, hence the name and cool lilting melody.
"Fly pellican fly" will be beat into the ground by Monday.
that's turrrrrible
by 'that', i obviously mean clarence's pun
The video is 110% worth listening to. I played the trumpet in middle school and quit to become a music critic based entirely on my complete lack of musicianship. So I can say with a little authority that what the trumpet player does in the video is really really hard to do.
I think it's in 5/4 Z. I remember Harris Simon giddily counting out the 9/8 of "Blue Rondo a'la Turk".
Rootsy Collins? Maybe I'll use that as my alias when I play bass.
Padre de KQ in Pelican Brief. Although not in briefs. That wouldn't work.
Harris Simon! roots"harold"miner and I went to one of his live gigs. He played piano and took a solo on the harmonica, prompting applause from an elderly black guy, prompting everyone else to applaud.
5/4, 5/8 ... I told you I had no musicianship.
5'4", 5'8" -- Rob and Dave's two man jazz band!
The natural segue is, of course ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7tOAGY59uQ
I think Boots would definitely approve of this email.
Or post.
it's been a long day.
I remember the harmonica solo (All Blues, I think) but not the elderly black man imploring us to applause. Could have been a sort of a hazy situation going on that evening.
The old guy started forcefully clapping as soon as Harris ended his solo, and there was this instant where everyone else looked around and then started clapping too. But I could have hallucinated the whole thing.
this college fball awards show really needs to stop the attempts at humor.
You need to stop watching the CFB Awards show. Possibly the worst of all awards shows. Which is obviously quite a statement.
Love this video and the fact the this really one one of the best moments on his life. Made me cry
I seriously doubt that Isaac Mizrahi drives a Chevy Malibu.
Stepdaughter had a choral concert tonight to ring in the lighting of the Xmas tree in the neighborhood park/beach in our town. Concert was relatively painless. The lighting of the tree was disappointing. To say the least. I think they took two strands of lights, attached to the top branches of the big pine tree and then let the rest of the lights fall towards the ground.
Did TR abandon his plan to quit the Kincks? I hope not. This team won't win it all but they're fucking fun to watch.
workmanlike 78-69 win for the wrens over howard last night. career-high 26 for brandon britt. on the road against radford tomorrow.
So, first let me say, I know I don't comment much, but I do read y'all pretty regularly, and you make me laugh. A lot! Thanks!
Second, I actually saw Brubeck before I was married to a guy who LOVES jazz like none other, and it was AMAZING! And where did I see him - in a Presbyterian Church, no less. Yes, in Princeton, NJ, at Nassau Pres on Easter morning. Unfu$#King believable honestly! And I confess I really had no idea about him until then. So glad my grad school friend had me go with her. When my Dad heard later that day that we'd gone, he was pissed not to have known about it. It's one of the highlights of my ever going to church, and seeing my history now, I've been there a lot. It made such an impression that years later on an Easter Sunday when I preached, I played a Brubeck Easter Oratorio he wrote. He was unreal in the jazz world.
Thanks for y'all's tribute! You guys sure have growed-up nicely :-)
give us a few minutes, donna. dick jokes are right around the corner.
The FBI raided the home of Jason Fabini and his brother early today. Interesting...
Live jazz can be amazing. It's a shame not to have seen the pioneers of the era. Maybe I need to make a new years resolution to see more live jazz shows. One of the best concerts I saw was by an experimental jazz/funk band called Garage a Trois.
http://youtu.be/tQ8GIaRceZs
DC-ites can go to Blues Alley in Georgetown for top-shelf jazz. I saw Nancy Wilson there in 1993 with my grandparents. Then I moved to the area and never went back there for the next 20 years. Stupid.
that's really good stuff. was curious to know which instrument his dad is playing in the tribute.
and speaking of m. jordan (from the other day), you may have seen in a recent USA Today he was asked not to return to a private club in miami beach after refusing to trade in his cargo shorts for some nicer non-cargo shorts. in his defense, he stated he had played there many times before, which he had, with cargo shorts & no one making a peep. on this particular visit, the club sent out a 3rd asst pro to ask him to make the change...on the 12th hole. not in his defense, his spokesperson the following day stated that MJ is a great golfer, and a great guest. And it's the club's loss. I would probably have my spokesperson convey something a bit different than that. i give a thumbs down to both parties. and now you know.
And TR is a great guy, sincerely, but I don't think it matters whether he quits the Kincks or not. Ray Davies is really the heart and soul there, especially now that Dave Davies had the stroke, and everyone else just plays a bit part.
Stupid questions: was he supposed to drop trou on the 12th hole, rocking his Hanes for the entire world to see? Did the course offer a spare pair of shorts or did they expect that he had his old Carolina uni on underneath? Finally, were they aware that he's a fashion disaster?
http://wtfismikewearing.tumblr.com/
TR likes knish.
http://wtfismikewearing.tumblr.com/post/2701062343/par-for-the-course
z-i think they expected/requested him to come back to golf shop to purchase a pair. he declined. yes, i think everyone is aware that he's a disaster w/the threads. he of course thinks he's the shiznit.
his clothes must be so bad that our web admin won't even let me go to the site.
Sounds like a failed yo momma joke.
Everybody should read this article on Bernie Kosar by Dan LeBatard:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/as-bernie-kosars-life-around-him-crumbles-the-former-qbs-game-plan-is-familiar-emerge-unscathed-349253/
read it. damn. i am guilty of assuming he was an idiot when i saw him a while back on espn's The U. he was whacked out. i will root for bernie. great attitude.
wbgo -- newark's jazz station -- has been playing tons of brubeck in his memory. awesome stuff.
folks wanted me to name my travel soccer team "the pelicans," as highland park does birds of prey for all the teams, but i thought that was too egotistical and went with "the vultures," which is much scarier.
I'm surprised you didn't select the tufted titmouse as your mascot.
Is there anybody cooler than Camp Lo?
just transacted commerce with chris cooley. he's cooler than camp lo. he told me he supported my decision.
Rob's love for Cooley is bordering on creepy but sinceI don't live near him I won't pass full judgement. But still..better than Camp Lo? I don't know. Listen to Luchini...
full disclosure: i don't know what a camp lo is.
but i did just listen to lucini, which is cool, indeed
Expanding horizons.
parameters, etc
Now. Listening to Thievery Corporation. Never gets old, for me.
Everybody busy watching ODU on ESPN?
Yes.
Eat a dick ODU.
tribe does what they should do at radford. 60-55, good guys.
@swifterhigher just followed me on twitter. ironic, since that's the same guy as @midmajority. thought you'd enjoy.
So do we all get to berate him via Twitter again?
Flutie's mullet is resplendent. Desmond howard's orthodontist is proud.
BJ Penn is easily the most consistently out of shape MMA fighter ever. What a lazy asshole.
Dagger
Did you really think Te'o was going to win, Dan?
It just seemed to me that nearly everybody was voting for Manziel. At least that's what most of the chatter made it seem like. It obviously didn't turn out that way. The vote ended up closer than I thought.
Zman would not approve of Yuriorkis Gamboa's shorts. The hang halfway down his calves. Absurd.
Mitt Romney is at this fight. And he has had interactions with Manny Pacquiao, 50 Cent and Metta World Peace tonight. Is this where I say the Mayans were right?
shit. need to reconsider some stuff.
Eastbay is having a huge sale on all their NCAA basketball shorts. Somebody should probably take my credit card away from me while I'm drinking tonight.
Oh man. This fight is awesome. Already.
That was worth the money. Damn. What a fight.
It's about to get depressing watching Manny enter the "Roy Jones at the End of His Career" point of his career.
met a new neighbor last night who grew up in highland park, nj and is close friends with hoopie's wife. this episode of 'it's a small world, after all' was brought to you by gosling's black rum.
meaningless open thread filler posted
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