Jazz Casual: Dave Brubeck

On October 17 1961 the popular and pioneering pianist-composer Dave Brubeck performed on Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual the television show that showcased some of the finest jazz artists in a half-hour of no-frills performance and conversation. Backed by the Lester Young-influenced alto saxophonist Paul Desmond bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello Brubeck and his combo perform some of their odd-metered hits. Desmond's dancing ditty "Take Five" is rendered in a faster tempo than the studio version. Brubeck's ragtime-flavoured "(It's a) Raggy Waltz" highlights his percussive piano lines while "Castillian Blues" and the Turkish strains of "Blue Rondo a la Turk" reveal his multicultural compositional genius. Gleason the show's creator and host was a well-respected San Francisco-based jazz critic and author. He remarks during the show that Dave Brubeck was "a provocative experimental and interesting musician." That statement is still true today.