Abstract
The worlds of classical music and jazz often remain separate. However, classical pianists can expand their repertoire and develop musically and technically by learning works in the jazz tradition. This D.M.A. dissertation examines stylistic parallels between classical and jazz piano music through the lens of Dave Brubeck’s two-piano suite Points on Jazz (1961). Classical pianists are familiar with stylistic and generic differences because they study and play music from several periods of mostly Western music history, spanning from Baroque to Contemporary. However, this Western focus excludes traditions such as jazz, which deserves detailed exploration. Dave Brubeck's Points on Jazz offers an especially suitable bridge between the two worlds. While the American jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck (1920–2012) is highly acclaimed for his Dave Brubeck Quartet, his composition for piano is less well-known. These works often exhibit similarities with classical music in structure, style, and compositional approach. The two-piano work Points on Jazz in particular shows the influence of styles from the Baroque period, Romantic period, and twentieth century, including references to Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Béla Bartók, and others. This study explores these similarities and parallels, offering a guide to the performance of Points on Jazz for classical pianists who are interested in jazz music. I discuss the specific difficulties of the piece, with the goal of preparing performers and expanding their aesthetic range. This essay also aims to provide an accessible introduction to help classical pianists better understand the interaction of classical and jazz styles while appreciating the possibility of their confluence.