1920-
Jazz Pianist, Composer

Intellectual Jazz.

One of the most innovative and popular figures in jazz during a decade filled with innovative and popular performers was pianist and composer Dave Brubeck. At the same time, Brubeck was one of the most controversial figures in jazz: while he and his quartet, which included alto saxophonist Paul Desmond and drummer Joe Morello, were highly successful, especially on the college campuses where they often took their music, some criticized their work for being overly intellectual, claiming it lacked genuine feeling.

Popular Complexity.

It was understandable that Brubeck's music was consciously complex, since he had trained under some of the most experimental classical composers of the twentieth century, including Darius Milhaud. Brubeck experimented with quotation from classical composers in his jazz compositions — thus anticipating Gunther Schuller's concept of a "Third Stream" combining classical and jazz techniques — and incorporated...