Dave Brubeck’s Cool Catalog Joins Primary Wave’s Jazz Portfolio

Primary Wave Music announced on Tuesday (Nov. 18) that it has acquired a stake in both the publishing copyrights and master recordings of jazz icon Dave Brubeck through a major partnership with Derry Music Company. The partnership also grants Primary Wave a share in licensing Brubeck’s name, image and likeness, with the company collaborating closely with the Brubeck family on future creative decisions.

According to the company, it will leverage its marketing and publishing infrastructure to amplify Brubeck’s legacy through branding initiatives, digital campaigns, synch placements and film and television projects. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“The Brubeck family enjoys a rare position in the musical world as we have inherited an exceptional legacy,” the family said in a statement. “Our father, Dave Brubeck, was a world figure known for his talent, originality, international diplomacy, and decency. We are thrilled about our new partnership with Primary Wave, whose innovative team will enable us to further extend the appreciation of our parents’ musical and humanitarian heritage.”

Brubeck’s cerebral style transformed West Coast jazz in ways that remain unparalleled. Forming the Dave Brubeck Quartet with alto saxophonist Paul Desmond in 1951, the World War II Army veteran helped usher cool jazz into the mainstream with groundbreaking college tours and albums like Jazz at Oberlin and the on-the-nose Jazz Goes to College. 

By the end of the decade, the iconic quartet featured Desmond, drummer Joe Morello and bassist Eugene Wright — the lineup behind Brubeck’s 1959 landmark album Time Out. The record, which opens with “Blue Rondo à la Turk” and includes the iconic “Take Five,” shattered conventions with its daring time signatures and became the first jazz album to sell over a million copies. (It went double platinum in 2011, according to the RIAA.)

Today, Time Out stands alongside albums like Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme as one of jazz’s defining works.

This quartet, which recorded for Columbia, also produced such classic albums as 1961’s Time Further Out and 1963’s The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall. His later work included collaborations with baritone saxman Gerry Mulligan and various projects with his children Darius (electric piano), Chris (bass), Matt (cello) and Dan (drums).

Beyond his musical innovations, Brubeck was a staunch advocate for racial integration, famously canceling performances at venues that refused to welcome Wright, who was Black. His six-decade career earned him the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, eight Grammy nominations and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award before his passing in 2012 at the age of 92.

“I’ve worked on dozens of acquisitions for Primary Wave in the 15 years I’ve been with the team, but this one is personal,” said Primary Wave’s John Luneau. “Dave Brubeck and his classic Quartet were my first musical idols – three years before the Beatles! – and remain so still. It’s the honor of my career to help bring about this brilliant marriage of Dave’s musical genius with Primary Wave’s skill at preserving and expanding the legacies of iconic artists.”

Primary Wave noted it will continue to pursue iconic jazz catalogs, having recently struck deals with Pat Metheny, the late Chuck Mangione, and previously partnered with the Count Basie estate.

The deal comes on the heels of Reservoir Media’s acquisition of Miles Davis’ publishing catalog, signaling a renewed industry focus on preserving jazz’s greatest legacies.