Take Five

Yesterday marked my mom's 70th birthday. To celebrate, we had a family dinner at my sister's house and then my mom, my nephew, Warren, and I went to see Dave Brubeck at the GPAC.

I'm not sure who was more excited about the show--my mom or Warren. All I really knew about Dave Brubeck was that he was responsible for the catchy "Take Five" that, thanks to many years spent at the Lamplighter, was burned onto my brain. I didn't quite know what to expect. Admittedly I cracked a few jokes about "old fogey music" on the way over.

All I can say is that at 88, Dave Brubeck certainly should make my mom feel as though she's got a lot of living left to do! He was absolutely amazing. Despite looking as though he might fall and break a hip at any moment, he was sharp & witty on the mic, and outrageously nimble on the piano.

Dave was especially happy about playing with two of his SIX talented children--Chris on electric bass and trombone and Danny on drums. Dave said they play twice a year together and this was "one of the twice". There was no doubt that Chris and Danny were amazing musicians in their own right, but what made it so special was seeing Dave Brubeck as the proud papa. They were clearly having a blast playing together and the beaming was coming from all sides. And yes, they ended the show with a truly outstanding "Take Five".

Dave made several cracks about what it was like raising musically inclined kids and I couldn't wait to get home to Google.


I tried imagining Satchel and Jiro as talented writers and how the three of us might do some sort of performance art together when I was an old lady, but frankly, it was hard to picture. I also thought that we should all take up instruments immediately, but considering last night was the first time I was ever actually able to pick a bass line out of any song, it seemed a bit futile.

Alternately I thought of things my parents passed down to me and how I might share them on a stage. I think it's fair to say that my dad's love of food and my mom's endless scrapbooking have certainly weaved their way into my world.

So what if you can't dance to it!