Dave Brubeck, the pianist and composer whose quartet produced the first jazz album that sold more than 1 million copies and was best known for the melodic composition “Take Five,” died yesterday. He would have turned 92 today.
He died of heart failure, according to his manager, Russell Gloyd.
Brubeck’s experimental recordings and unorthodox time signatures broke new ground in the 1950s, inspiring a generation of musicians and delivering jazz to a wider audience.
His cool, West Coast sound defied traditional forms by playing in two keys at once, a harmonic approach that gave jazz a new angle.
The band stayed together for 16 years and was one of the most popular in jazz history, winning a cult following among students through regular performances on university campuses.
Brubeck’s works such as “The Duke” and “In Your Own Sweet Way” became standards of the genre, while “Time Out” set a precedent for jazz music by selling more than 1 million records after it was released in 1959.