Take Five Minutes and Watch This

Today would have been the 92nd birthday of jazz hall of famer Dave Brubeck, but, sad to say, he passed away yesterday.  I'll confess to only having a passing knowledge of Mr. Brubeck's talent and catalog; everybody recognizes "Take Five," one of my favorite jazz staples, but my only familiarity with his other material comes from having ripped my father-in-law's Time-Life "Classic Jazz" 14 CD box set to mp3.  (Now out of print, it's an amazing sampler of 20th century jazz worth finding on eBay for those who still purchase compact discs.)  More attuned minds than mine could wax poetic about Dave Brubeck's improvisational genius, his tinkering with rhythm and time, and his Quartet's influence on the musical world.  I'll just fall back on the tried, true, and simpletonian artistic adage that "I know what I like," and I like his stuff.

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.