There were songs for the sisters, the grandchildren, the in-laws, and the whole “cast”.  We thought they were pretty clever.
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We lived a half hour from Manhattan, and theatre tickets were cheap in those days - less than a movie costs now!
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The second the music began, it was transcendent.
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Brubeck

Over the years I’ve seen many memorable performances, early on as a teenager hearing Ella Fitzgerald at the Danbury Fair  (See The Camper-Waitress Goes to the Fair) ; and since dramas and musicals on Broadway, Off Broadway,  and at regional theater (See On the Aisle);  and wonderful  performances at cabarets, concert halls, and stadiums  – Rosemary Clooney at the Blue Note and wherever else we could catch her;   Frank Sinatra celebrating his 70th birthday at Giant Stadium;   the great stride pianist Judy Carmichael at Hanratty’s;   master guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli at the 92nd St Y;   Cyndi Lauper singing the Blues at the Palace Theatre in Waterbury;  my gal Bonnie Raitt at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre;  Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga together at Tanglewood;  and altho we’re not opera buffs,  we‘ve seen memorable productions of Carmen at the Met,  at Glimmerglass,  and even at La Scala!   And wonderful modern dance –  Pilobolus and Ballet Hispanica at the Joyce;  Paul Taylor’s company at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington;   and Alvin Ailey’s at City Center.   (See Revelations)  And of course The Grateful Dead at Madison Square Garden. (See Rolling Stoned at the Garden)

Yet the most memorable performance in memory may be Dave Brubeck on piano opening the Kent, CT jazz fest a few years before his death at age 92.   We waited for Time Out and not surprisingly he saved it for last.  And as the festival was held out-of-doors with no house for Brubeck to bring down,  it seemed when he hit that last note he brought down the summer sky and all the stars.

But thinking back,  I can remember another Dave Brubeck memorable performance 35 years earlier when we saw a young Brubeck jazzing it up on piano at a New York cabaret.   I don’t remember the venue but I can tell you the date as we had been celebrating our anniversary,  and I remember we were both a bit tipsy when we got home.

Nine months later – almost to the day – our son was born,  and so I guess you can pin that memorable performance on Brubeck too.

Jazz great Dave Brubeck

– Dana Susan Lehrman