It Came From the (Photo) Morgue: Dave Brubeck

In honor of the passing of Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), we went to the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue.

Dave Brubeck, April 1956
Copy on the backside of photograph: "Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and his quartet will co-headline Irving Granz' "Jazz a la Carte" concert, Saturday, April 14th, at 8:30pm, in the Oakland Auditorium. Besides Brubeck the group includes Paul Desmond, alto-saxophone, Joe Dodge, drums, and Norman Bates on bass."

Mr. & Mrs. Dave Brubeck in their Oakland home, January 14, 1960
Newscopy on the backside of photograph: "Ollie and Dave collaborate on lyrics and music in the Brubeck living room. All five children are also musically inclined and enjoy listening to records."

Curious about the Brubeck family home in the Oakland hills? The photo folder also contained the Bethlehem Steel advertisement about it that was published in Business Week, May 24, 1958 (see below). Brubeck commissioned San Francisco architect Beverley Thorne in 1949 to build it. The Modernist design home was completed in 1954.

Brubeck's home, advertisement courtesy of Bethlehem Steel and Business Week


Brubeck, St. Francis Hotel, Sept. 21, 1962; V.M. Hanks Jr. photographer
The Real Ambassadors rehearsal, Sept. 21, 1962; V.M. Hanks Jr. photographer



"The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s recordings and concert appearances on college campuses in the ‘50s and early ‘60s introduced jazz to thousands of young people. The Quartet’s audiences were not limited to students, however.  The group played in jazz clubs in every major city and toured in package shows with such artists as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzerald, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz." (http://www.davebrubeck.com/live/)

Born in Concord and living in Oakland, Brubeck maintained a local connection. In the 1950s,  Brubeck played Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings in the Tenderloin's Black Hawk. When it came time to rehearse the jazz opera, The Real Ambassadors, for the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1962, the Italian Room of the St. Francis Hotel was the rehearsal spot.  The photograph on the left includes Howard Brubeck, Danny Barcelona (on drums), Eugene Wright, Joe Morello (on drums), Billy Cronk, Dave Lambert, Yolande Bavan, Jon Hendricks, Iola Brubeck, Trummy Young, Carmen McRae, Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck (on piano) rehearsing for what was to become jazz history.

Ready to "Take Five" with Dave Brubeck? Check out CDs, listen to vinyl, download, stream and read scores.

Need a quick biography of Dave Brubeck? Whip out your San Francisco Public Library card and use the Biography in Context database.

Want to do deep research about Brubeck? Go to the University of Pacific for the Dave Brubeck Collection and The Real Ambassadors Oral History Project.

The Art, Music and Recreation Center pulled together a great bibliography of books and scores in the San Francisco Public Library collection.



Images and captions from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue are courtesy of the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection, San Francisco Public Library.
[Box P95, Folder: Brubeck, Dave (musician)]
The V.M. Hanks Jr. Photograph Collection is a recent acquisition to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection, San Francisco Public Library and courtesy of Lisa Hanks Baxter and family. We'll share more soon!
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The San Francisco Public Library owns the photo morgue of the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, a daily newspaper that covered the time period from the 1920s to 1965. Much of the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection comes from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue. However, the morgue also includes statewide, national, and international subjects and people that have not been digitized or cataloged. When researchers order scans from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue,selections are cataloged and added to the online database.

Looking for a historical photograph of San Francisco? Try our online database first. Not there? Come visit us at the Photo Desk of the San Francisco History Center, located on the sixth floor at the Main Library. The Photo Desk hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. You may also request photographs from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Photo Morgue.

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