Brubeck learned to appreciate Middle Eastern music, which was very different than what he knew and played.

In 1958, his band traveled to Eastern Europe, India, and the Middle East on a State Department-sponsored tour. Throughout his career, Brubeck insisted on the inclusion of his Black bandmember, bassist Eugene Wright, and often refused to perform for segregated audiences.ĭave Brubeck Quartet from crowd – UNT Libraries Special Collectionsīrubeck’s unique style and personal musical language set him apart from other musicians of the time and although he had his critics, by the late 1950s, he and his quartet had broken into the mainstream.

It was in the army that Brubeck met Paul Desmond, a formative musical colleague-the two men eventually became one of jazz’s greatest combos.īrubeck’s army band called themselves the “Wolf Pack,” one of the first racially integrated music groups in the US Army. While in the army, Brubeck led a band that traveled into combat areas to play for troops, and while he was close to the front line, he never fought. He also got married, and served in the army during World War II. In the 1940s, Brubeck attended college where he studied music. Later, Brubeck became one of the leading jazz pianists and composers of the 1950s and 60s and the first musician to sell over one million copies of a jazz record. His mother forbade Brubeck and his brothers from listening to the radio, so they learned to play instruments and practiced everything from spirituals to cowboy songs. As a child, he lived on his family’s 1,200-acre ranch in Ione, California, and it was there that his love of music blossomed. David Brubeck was born on Decemin Concord, California, to Pete and Elizabeth Brubeck.

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