Dave Brubeck - President Obama Celebrates His Career

Matthias Kirsch's JazzRiff 15. 09. 09
The legendary pianist turns 89 on December 6th and will be honored at the 32nd Kennedy Center Honors Gala. Brubeck said in a statement that his mother would have been delighted since Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck, a classical pianist, was at first disappointed by her son playing Jazz. He recalled that when he graduated High School back in 1938, his mother wrote in her diary: "I think there is some hope for David after all." In a recent phone interview from Seattle, he told the Associated Press:"She finally came around to what I was doing. She lived long enough to see good results, and she enjoyed going to the concerts."

President Obama and his wife Michelle will host the honorees at the White House before attending the gala. In his memoirs, Obama wrote of going to a Brubeck concert as a child. The Kennedy Center Honors series recognize performing artists for their contributions to American Culture. Brubeck's landmark 1959 album Time Out with the classic Take Five turned 50 this year. Among the hundreds of recordings are pieces where he set the music to the words of the Old Testament and of Martin Luther King Jr.
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