Time and Brubeck Time

Abstract

This chapter sketches some of the most important factors that led to the formation of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and its rise to fame in the 1950s. Brubeck’s interest in polyrhythms is traced back to his formative years in the 1930s and 1940s, including his work with two predecessors of the Quartet, the Dave Brubeck Octet and the Dave Brubeck Trio. After its formation in 1951, the Dave Brubeck Quartet achieved popular acclaim and signed a multiyear contract with Columbia Records in 1954. Shortly thereafter, Brubeck appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Around the same time, he recorded his first studio album for Columbia, Brubeck Time, whose title was purely a promotional tactic. The experimental meter signatures of Time Out were still five years in the future.