In 1994 me and the three other members of the Earl Enterline Quartet piled into a 1969 Cadillac and headed to Tulsa to the Greenwood Jazz Festival to have our minds blown by Dave Brubeck. We were not disappointed. We finagled our way to the front of the crowd. OU basketball legend and jazz bassist Wayman Tisdale (now deceased due to cancer) opened up the evening with a very impressive set. Then came the mad professor and his quartet.
Even in their seventies Brubeck and crew were stunning. One of the most memorable musical nights of my life.
Dave Brubeck died this morning one day shy of his 92nd birthday. He was one of the towering greats of jazz. A humanist, intellectual and game changer who played in African-American clubs in the south when that just wasn't done.
Rest in peace and Take Five, Mr. Brubeck.
