On October 17, 1961, the popular and pioneering pianist-composer Dave Brubeck performed on Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual, the television show that showcased some of the finest jazz artists in a half-hour of no-frills performance and conversation. Backed by the Lester Young-influenced alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello, Brubeck and his combo perform some of their odd-metered hits. Desmond's dancing ditty, ""Take Five"" is rendered in a faster tempo than the studio version. Brubeck's ragtime-flavoured ""(It's a) Raggy Waltz,"" highlights his percussive piano lines, while ""Castillian Blues"" and the Turkish strains of ""Blue Rondo a la Turk"" reveal his multicultural, compositional genius. Gleason, the show's creator and host, was a well-respected, San Francisco-based jazz critic and author. He remarks during the show that Dave Brubeck was ""a provocative, experimental, and interesting musician."" That statement is still true today.
