(male announcer) This is made possible in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by... [applause] [applause] Hi, everybody.

Thank you for coming to this very special evening of "Piano Jazz."

I'm Marian McPartland, and I'd like to introduce my very special guest, one of the world's great jazz pianists and my dear friend, Mr. Dave Brubeck.

[applause] Dave, how are you doing?

I'm doing great; it's great to see you.

Great to see you too.

What's going on in your life?

What new things are happening?

Everything.

New songs?

New songs, sure... old songs.

(McPartland) Maybe we could play an old song of yours.

I'm thinking of "In Your Own Sweet Way."

I love to play it, so maybe we should have a go at it.

What do you think?

Let's try it.

You start out.

All right.

♪ ["In Your Own Sweet Way"] ♪ [mid-tempo music with a relaxed beat] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [Brubeck playing up-tempo section] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [McPartland playing dramatic chords] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [music softening] ♪ [applause] [applause] That was nice.

Dave, when did you write that tune?

I seem to remember playing it when I was at the Hickory House, which was in the '50s.

You're right.

1953, I think.

Because I think the first time I heard that was Miles Davis recorded it.

Was that the first record you had on it, apart from your own?

Definitely, and as soon as Miles played it, everybody played it.

Well, I know that Miles Davis, he sort of had the-- he gave us all the okay.

By his playing it, it meant all the rest of us could do it.

But I think that's just one of your best tunes.

Everything you write is really good, but that's one of the most played by all of us.

Everybody plays that tune.

Didn't you write something for your wife Iola?

That'll be on the new CD coming out soon.

It's called "All My Love."

Will you play that for us?

I think I will.

Okay.

I can't wait to hear it.

♪ ["All My Love"] ♪ [soft, slow-tempo music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [tempo increases] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [dramatic chords] ♪ ♪ [music softens] ♪ ♪ [applause] [applause] That's beautiful.

[applause] You know, I was just thinking, you often write things that have a sort of minor, like it was an A-minor going to A-major, and it has a sort of classical air to it, though.

You wrote a tune, which I like to play a lot myself, for Duke Ellington called-- needless to say-- called "The Duke."

How did you meet him?

Did you write that after you met him?

How I met him was, in Stockton, California, all the big bands used to come through California, and his bass player was from San Francisco, and I knew him, and he said, "Would you like to meet Duke?"

So I said, "Oh, I'd love that."

So he took me to Duke's dressing room.

I walked in, and Duke looked up at me, and I couldn't open my mouth, and I backed out.

[laughter] But then we were on the road together, and they put the band members in one big dressing room and the leaders in another dressing room.

I was in the room with Duke, so I had to talk, and he had to answer me, so I finally got to know him.

He was so easy to know, wasn't he?

He was always so charming and friendly.

I met him before the Hickory House, but that was where I really got to know him because he would come in there, and he enjoyed the food, and then he had this press agent, Joe Morgan.

We can both laugh about Joe.

He's a memorable character.

And Duke would once in a while get up and play with my trio.

He was really sort of a mentor to me in many ways.

Anyway, I could go on and on about reminiscences of Duke at the Hickory House, but it would be fun to play that tune, "The Duke."

Are you going to start it?

Unless you start it.

[laughter] I'll start.

I've got to say, that tune has the most perfect bass line.

No bass player could ever mess with this bass line.

You must have written it that way, so they couldn't screw it up.

[laughter] It's probably the first tune that goes through all 12 notes in the first 8 bars, all bass notes.

I didn't even think of that.

Neither did I.

[laughter] Well, everybody better listen hard.

♪ ["The Duke"] ♪ [up-tempo music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [music softens] ♪ ♪ [tempo picking up] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [both playing same parts for the song's finish] [laughs] [applause] (McPartland) That's amazing.

[applause] Thank you.

But I just love the way this thing goes.

♪ ♪ I'm just doing that because, because...I can.

[laughter] But it's a very original idea.

You know, I'd love to hear you play alone so I'm not gettin' in your road.

Well, you never do.

You always play such nice stuff.

But I'd be glad to do a solo.

Would you play "Twilight World"?

I'd be very happy to.

It's nice to play one of your own tunes, especially after hearing all yours.

At least you can hear one of mine.

[laughter] And this one has a lyric by Johnny Mercer, but don't worry, I'm not gonna sing it.

[laughter] ♪ ["Twilight World"] ♪ [mid-tempo, poignant music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] That was beautiful, Marian, just wonderful harmonies.

You always talk about my harmony-- thank you very much, by the way-- but, um... you did something recently which sort of knocked me out, the thing that you wrote for me on the airplane.

Oh, yeah.

It's a tune written for you called "Marian McPartland."

I didn't see how you could ever write a tune with such a long name.

Now, what you have to do is say your name in this rhythm: [singsongy] ♪ Mar-i-an Mc-Part-land.

♪ (audience) ♪ Mar-i-an Mc-Part-land.

♪ ♪ [music matches the rhythm that the name was sung in] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] I know the tune now.

Can I play it, like, out of tempo first?

I want you to.

Okay.

I'm very flattered.

I think I'm very flattered to have somebody write a tune for me on my name.

Gee, it's ridiculous.

[laughter] ♪ [mid-tempo music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [tempo becomes very lively] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] Thank you, Dave.

[applause] [applause] Do you play that in your concerts once in a while?

Yes!

[laughter] Well, I mean, I really appreciate all that free advertising.

I'm not gonna get a bill, am I?

You'll get a big one because I played it all over Europe on the last tour.

You do a lot of symphonic things, don't you, over there?

We just did, yeah.

What did you do?

A couple of new pieces I've written, and the last tour before that, we did my mass in Vienna and Munich and Berlin.

What's it called?

Mass "To Hope!"

That has some wonderful melodies in it.

You sent that to me and autographed it to me.

I've tried to pick out some of the themes from that.

It's really, really a masterpiece.

When are you gonna do that again?

Well, there's always people asking me to do it.

I did it in Candlestick Park with 72,000 people, not to see me.

The Pope was there doing a Mass.

Oh, my goodness.

So you played for-- was it the present Pope?

The present Pope.

Can he swing?

Yeah, yeah.

[laughter] He's a wild guy.

Is he really?

I'm glad to hear that because he must have sort of a wild streak to be doing all the things he does and go everywhere and speak a hundred languages.

He's amazing.

He's a playwright too; he's written some plays.

Really?

You should put some music to one of his plays.

I'll ask him.

Get him to write a musical.

[laughing] Wouldn't that be great?

I'd love to hear his response if you asked him that.

He's so amazing, he probably would do it.

Listen, I've been thinking, I'm ashamed that I haven't come up with a tune on your name or written a tune for you, but what I'd like to do, and maybe this is taking a chance, and that is to do a kind of improvised portrait of you right now.

Well, you've done many portraits of many jazz pianists.

Never of you.

I'm glad to join the club.

Well, it's gonna be different from anything I've already done.

I bet you don't know what you're gonna do.

I haven't the faintest idea.

[laughter] That's great.

I just hope it'll please you, that you'll like it.

Already I'm pleased.

♪ [soft, slow-tempo music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] Thank you.

Thank you very much.

You should... copy that and put it in the book of portraits that you've done.

I'm gonna give you the publishing and let you put it in your book.

[laughing] Oh, well, thank you!

I don't know, I mean, it's okay to play it, but transcribing it is something else.

Don't you have somebody who transcribes things for you, like the octets?

Right now that's going on because the entire octet library was lost in a flood in Australia.

That's terrible.

Yeah, it is terrible.

So a young fellow in Chicago is transcribing it, and we'll be playing that at the Chicago Jazz Festival soon.

Well, that's great because those are some of the most terrific arrangements I've ever heard.

But you just keep going on and on and doing new and different things.

I'm just thrilled to be performing with you.

Do you think we should do a duet?

Yeah.

It says here... [laughter] "Summer Song."

Oh, that's one of your great songs, and, now, wasn't that supposed to be in a show with Louis Armstrong?

Yes, Louis loved that song.

He did a great arrangement.

When he sang it, I mean, to hear him sing a sentimental, delicate kind of song like that absolutely knocked me out.

I bet you were thrilled.

My wife wrote the lyrics.

Yeah, I know she did.

Louis sent back his music and said, "Am very happy, Mrs. Brubeck.

Satchmo Louis Armstrong."

That was great.

How wonderful to have that.

When Louis died, they played that song on the classical station in New York on the day he passed.

I didn't know that, but that's a wonderful song.

Are we going to play that?

Yeah... we'll try.

Well, can I... can I do another little ad-lib part on that tune, just-- well, what key should I do it in?

Whiskey.

[laughter] You're trying to trick me.

[laughter] ♪ ["Summer Song"] ♪ [soft, mid-tempo music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [tempo increases slightly] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [tempo slowing] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] Wonderful.

[applause] I ended up in a key I didn't even mention to you.

That's all right; I was sort of-- You were ready.

I'd better be ready if I'm with you!

It worked out, didn't it?

But I didn't know where you were going.

Neither did I.

Well, that's jazz, ain't it?

Ain't it?

That's one of the nicest tunes you've written, I think, or anybody's written.

It's sort of like a hymn.

You played something a while ago, when we were doing something in Chicago.

You played a very, like a Chopinesque-- Chopinesque?-- kind of a piece.

Yeah.

And I think it's called "Thank You," but that's not the whole title, is it?

In Polish, it's "Dziekuje" [zhen-koo-yeh], and that means "Thank You."

I'd love to hear that.

All right.

There's a long story to that.

Well, tell the story.

Well, I was on tour behind the Iron Curtain in 1958-- the Eisenhower tour, a cultural exchange-- and I went to Chopin's home, which is a museum now, and I saw his pianos.

And my mother played, like your mother, all of Chopin, and it was buzzing in my head on the train to the next town.

And that night was the 12th concert in Poland, and for an encore, I thought it'd be nice to do something relating to the Polish people, Polish culture, so I took a chance and played this.

♪ ["Thank You"] ♪ [soft, melodious music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [tempo increases briefly] ♪ ♪ [tempo slows] ♪ [tempo increasing] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [tempo slows] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] [applause] That's beautiful, Dave; that's beautiful.

I'm thinking, while you're playing that, I mean, there's a lot of technique in everything you do.

Do you practice every day?

I wish... because writing takes up most of my time and ruins my technique.

Well, it's not ruined.

Holding that pencil cramped in your hand is not the way.

I heard somewhere that you were playing with the Philharmonic in New York and working at Birdland at the same time.

Is that true?

Yeah.

How did you work it out?

We'd have to take an intermission, try to change our clothes into tuxedos in the cab, and rush to Carnegie Hall and then back to the nightclub.

I would love to have seen you changing in the cab.

It was hilarious.

[laughter] I'll tell you a problem with playing with Bernstein.

When he said, "What are you gonna wear?"

and I said, "What we got on," he said, "No, you're not.

"You're playing with the New York Philharmonic.

You've got to play in a tuxedo."

I said, "We don't have tuxedos."

He said, "Get 'em!"

So we had to get 'em in one day.

The first job was Thursday afternoon, and then you played three nights.

So we showed up in our tuxes, and he said, "What do you got on?"

I said, "Like you said, tuxes."

He said, "You never wear a tux in the afternoon!

What's the matter with you?!"

He said, "Get back to the hotel and change into what I saw you in before."

So all of us rushed out of the back door at Carnegie Hall to the hotel.

That's the kind of things, when you're breaking into a different environment, you don't know.

Well, as much as I love to hear all these things and talk to you about things that I've done, I guess we have to just play just one last tune.

I was thinking, remember the record we made, "Just Friends," with George Shearing and you and myself and Geri Allen.

You and I did a tune on that record, one of my favorites, "Gone With the Wind."

Okay.

All right, let's have at it.

♪ ["Gone With the Wind"] ♪ [lively, upbeat music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [descending scale] ♪ [Brubeck chuckling] [applause] [applause] Captioned by: CompuScripts Captioning www.compuscripts.com [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] (male announcer) This is made possible in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by...