TD Jazz Festival Series

You’ve all heard his most famous piece, Take Five — but few have heard of the great Dave Brubeck and his Quartet. I was fortunate enough to have been invited by Doctor Dopey to attend this wonderful concert with premium orchestra seats.
Most of the jazz greats are dead — but at 90, Brubeck is alive, kicking and hammering away at that piano to deliver sweet sweet music to my ears. He may be old, but he is so young at heart. For those of you who have never seen or heard him, I encourage you to do it NOW because like I said. Brubeck is now 90 years old.
His Quartet consists of him (the pianist), a saxophonist, a bass player and a drummer. Some people need an entire orchestra to knock the socks off your feet, but Dave needs no more than 4!
The notes coming from the saxophonist were as round and full as he was. But I don’t think any man less than his stature would’ve been able to belt out those long long solos. He went so red after some of them I thought I’d have to jump on stage to perform CPR, but alas, he endured.
The bass player was totally into his element, and without his bass line, the songs just wouldn’t have been the same.
Eventually Dave introduced his son Matthew on stage, and it became a Quintet for the remainder of the show.
For the longest time I was wondering why the drummer didn’t have his solo… I now comprehend why. His solo during their final piece «Take Five» blew me away. If you ever pick a fight, do NOT pick it with a drummer, because they will drum until the cows come home. I took a stab at percussion when I was in high school, but quickly quit not only because my hand-​eye coordination was terrible, but also because I would’ve probably knocked myself out with the drumsticks doing stunts like the drummer of Dave Brubeck did. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, and he is 60 years old!
Of the many pieces that were featured tonight:
Someday My Prince Will Come — Puts Disney’s rendition to shame. You won’t be cringing every time you hear this version versus Snow White’s high-​pitched version.
Elegy — My FAVOURITE song of the evening. Written as as a dedication to the late Norwegian artist, journalist and critic, Randi Hultin. It featured the saxophonist on flute, and was a beautiful, mellow piece.
Unisphere — Dave Brubeck’s son Matthew came on stage and debuted this song. Matthew lives in Toronto — and so in the middle of the song, a jazzy rendition of O’Canada was worked into it. If O’Canada were written by Dave Brubeck, maybe we wouldn’t be caught snoring whenever our melancholic national anthem was played.
These Foolish Things Remind Me of You
Take 5 — Look it up. I know you have ALL heard this song, and YES it was amazing. Look up the drum solo and you will know what I’m talking about.
Dave Brubeck is truly a musical genious, and will forever be remembered by me as one of THE best concerts I’ve attended in my life! Bravo!