Dave Brubeck Quartet

I am designing a poster for The Folly Theatre's upcoming jazz music festival. I have been assigned to design for Dave Brubeck Quartet. Through research of music and his history, I will communicate engaging image making, typography, hierarchy, composition, and color sensibilities. If you've never head his music, or need a refresher, please view the column titled "Dave Brubeck Quartet" on the right side of the page (you may need to scroll to find it).

Dave Brubeck Quartet
JAZZ ICON // HISTORY

HIS THOUGHTS – The purest form of music.

OVERVIEW – American jazz pianist. To truly understand him, you have to listen to his music. He “speaks” with meaning through his music. “Always looking for a great marriage of creativity that you can pull off technically.”, Brubeck. He invented an individual style. He can play sloppy and likes to take chances. He rhythms of the ranch got into this music.

CHILDHOOD – Raised on a ranch. His mother was a piano teacher. Even when he was a baby, in the womb, she would play the piano for him and when he was born, his crib was next to the piano. His mother was strict about what kind of music Dave could listen to and would go over to a friend’s house to listen to jazz records. He couldn’t buy a jazz record until he was a teenager.

INSTRUMENT – Pianist; this style is bombastic to classical reflecting his mother’s training. Known for using unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasting rhymes, meters, and tonalities. He composes when he plays. Almost broke his next in a swimming accident.

QUARTET – Paul Desmond; saxophone.

EDUCATION – Worked way through college as a jazz pianist in local clubs. He decided to not be a veterinarian and ranch worker and changed his major to music. His professors wanted to kick him out for not being able to read music but his talented made up for it. He had to promise to never teach piano lessons to graduate. He was drafted into the army. After, helped establish Fantasy Records, in Berkeley, CA.

WHAT SETS APART – Very old and has been recognized musician since 1949. Helped launch “West Coast Jazz” or “Cool” Jazz. Played on college campuses and recordings probably gathered more new groups to jazz and any other in jazz history. He was the first jazz artist to see over one million copies of his album. He was one of two jazz musicians to be on the cover of Time Magazine.

CULTURAL REFRENCES – Some of his records used contemporary paintings as cover art.

Moodboard //

Light hearted, going for a stroll, bouncing dot, upbeat; but calm.
Old, smokey, classic, light saturation.
Colors in contemporary paintings, abstract.
Strong, gentle
Staccato. Explosive.
Sharp and smooth, quartet combination; quick and slow contrast with piano and saxophone.
Piano is always present with different combinations of the quartet adding in splashes.
Sleek, sophisticated, silver.
Feels like splashes of paint on water color.
Happy sunny day, busy street, city noises.

*Most information was gathered via wikipedia, and courtesy of NPR. You can listen to a selection of stories about Dave Brubeck here.