|
Dave Brubeck Wins Medal for Spreading Jazz |
Contributed By: Jesus Of Nazareth
Created On: Wednesday, 09 April 2008
Hits: 59
 Dave Brubeck
"As a little girl I grew up on the sounds of Dave Brubeck because my dad was your biggest fan," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at ceremony where Brubeck received the department's Ben Franklin Award for public diplomacy.
"Thank you for your patriotism and your leadership in representing America by introducing the language, the sounds and the spirit of jazz to new generations around the world," she added.
Best known for his quartet's 1959 hit "Take Five," Brubeck, 87, then sat down at a piano to play his improvisational piece "dziekuje," which means "thank you" in Polish, composed partly in memory of his mother's love for Polish composer Frederic Chopin.
Brubeck made his first State Department journey in 1958, when he took a two-month trip to Poland, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, saying he got a warm welcome everywhere and "really great" reception in India.
Asked why he took time out of a busy career to perform on behalf of the government, Brubeck chuckled, saying he went at former President Dwight D. Eisenhower's request.
"President Eisenhower was very important to me because I was in World War II in Patton's army. When you get a request from the top, from the general ..." he told reporters.
"You salute," said his wife of 65 years, Iola.
Three organizations also received the Ben Franklin award: nonprofit group Search for Common Ground, consumer products maker Johnson & Johnson Inc. and the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy.
|
Awards