Dave Brubeck: Twentieth Century American – Darius Brubeck

In the 13th year of the collaboration between Wilton Library and the Wilton Historical Society, the scholarly lecture series will focus on the theme of “Jazzed Up: The History of Jazz in America”. With 2020 being Dave Brubeck’s centennial year, his son Darius will kick off our lecture series with an overview of the panorama of Dave’s life in music over several decades.

The series is sponsored by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The media sponsor is the Wilton Bulletin.  The moderator is Steve Hudspeth. Registration required for each lecture individually. Register online or call 203-762-6334. Each registration is for one name only; please register additional names individually. Pre-registrants should arrive by 6:20 pm to be guaranteed seating; wait-listed and walk-in registrants will be admitted after 6:20 pm if space is available.

Born in 1920, Dave’s art and philosophy were decisively influenced by his experiences in the 1940s as a GI in World War II. Success and recognition came in the 1950s and, beginning with John F Kennedy in 1960 and up to Barack Obama in 2009, nearly every President invited Dave and Iola Brubeck to the White House. Focusing on the flow of history, Darius has divided the century into decades using presidential terms as milestones and then has folded in major themes in Dave’s work. In his late career, Dave was perceived as a world figure representing a universal, yet typically American, brand of idealism.

During the 1970s, pianist and composer Darius Brubeck toured the world with Two Generations of Brubeck and The New Brubeck Quartet (Dave, Darius, Chris and Dan Brubeck). He moved to South Africa in 1983, where he initiated the first degree course in Jazz Studies offered by an African university, eventually founding the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where he taught until 2005.  He continued performing internationally with many great South African musicians. He is now based in England and performs worldwide with The Darius Brubeck Quartet and Brubecks Play Brubeck.

The remaining lectures are as follows - please note the location of each lecture:

January 26 at the Wilton Library - Jazz, Civil Rights, and Social Justice – Dr. Gil Harel, Naugatuck Valley Community College

February 9 at the Wilton Library - Seriously Satchmo: The Importance of Louis Armstrong, The Early Years – Chris Coulter

March 8 at the Wilton Historical Society – The Harlem Renaissance: Connections and Creativity – Reggie Quinerly

April 5 at the Wilton Historical Society – Women in Jazz: Past, Present, Future – Brenda Earle Stokes

Reception following the talk. No charge but donations are always welcomed.