Café Mouffe is Back with Dave Brubeck

The Mouffe took ten, but it feels right to return after this hiatus with a YouTube clip of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five. This performance was recorded in 1961. You won’t see much of Brubeck, but you’ll hear him. If your ear is accustomed to the 1959 hit recording, Paul Desmond’s improvisation here sounds freshly lilting. And there’s a swinging drum solo by Joe Morello. His animation (and horn-rimmed glasses) remind me of my brother-in-law Harold, who was pounding the skins in a regional jazz band around the same time. I was six and thought he was cool. Still do. I have a vivid memory of Diana and Harold taking me to an outdoor Brubeck concert around this time, but they don’t remember it at all. Am I channeling some alternate reality?

If that’s not enough, here’s another YouTube clip of a later performance, maybe from the 70s. Brubeck has wild, Beethoven-like hair, and Desmond looks avuncular like Mr. Rogers. Hard to believe he was a junkie.