Dave Brubeck

Pairing esoteric formal structures with accessible melodies and grooves, pianist and composer Dave Brubeck is an enduring hero of early West Coast jazz and the “third stream” fusion movement.

Born near San Francisco in 1920, Brubeck was drawn to French impressionist classical music in his twenties, in part through his composition studies with Darius Milhaud, which came to influence his jazz compositions.

Brubeck formed his famed quartet under his own name in the ’50s, eventually featuring saxophonist Paul Desmond.