Brubeck, Dave (jazz) [David Warren]
- Richard Wang
- , revised by Barry Kernfeld
Extract
[David Warren]
(b Concord, CA, Dec 6, 1920; d Norwalk, CT, Dec 5, 2012). American pianist, composer, and bandleader. He received early training in classical music from his mother, a pianist, and by the age of 15 he was performing professionally with local jazz groups. His father was a rancher, and Brubeck entered the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California, in 1938 for pre-veterinary studies, but in his sophomore year he was persuaded to follow his heart and change his major to music; in 1941–2, his senior year, he led a 12-piece jazz band. After graduating he joined the army in mid-1942; he served as a musician in Southern California for two years, but in 1944 was sent to Europe, where he spent a period as a rifleman in the infantry before securing a position as leader of a band that toured the front lines in Patton’s Third Army....
