Fade Out, and Fade Out Again

I was saddened recently to learn of the deaths of two giants in music . . .

Dave Brubeck was one of the most innovative and engaging performers in the history of jazz, and his engaging approach to the form was what made his records so distinctive.  He did not write "Take Five," but the crisp playing and sly beats inherent in his quartet's recording of the Paul Desmond classic made jazz as enigmatic as it made it accessible   Written in 5/4 time, and as coolly played by Brubeck and his band, it provided an intriguing listen and turned a lot of people on to jazz but also challenged the budding musicians who wanted to play and create jazz.  The time 5/4 time signature in "Take Five" made jazz a riddle to solve and provided an exciting terra incognita for a whole generation of jazz musicians to explore.  

Ravi Shankar took a great deal of the mystery out of Indian classical music for Westerners by performing it for them, opening a whole new world to British and American ears alike.  Believed to have been discovered by rock fans through the Beatles,  Ravi Shankar had already begun to make inroads in Western circles before the mid-1960s, and his complex improvisations on the sitar wove a tantalizing tapestry, a wall of sound even Phil Spector couldn't have dreamed up.  Shankar commanded respect from those who sought his wisdom, including George Harrison, who gave up the sitar because he knew he could never approach its complexity.  One might say it was Shankar who discovered George Harrison, as his influence allowed the youngest Beatle to gain more confidence in himself as a musician and composer.  The many incorporations of raga into rock have yielded some fruitful results, yet they were always poor attempts to imitate Shankar's artistry. 

R.I.P.