Joe Morello, Drummer with Dave Brubeck Quartet, Dies at 82

Best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet over a span of more than 12 years, Morello played on 120 albums (60 of them with Brubeck) and went on to become a highly valued teacher of percussion.

Joseph Morello was born at Springfield, Massachusetts, on July 17 1928. Partially sighted from birth, he began learning the violin at the age of six, and three years later performed the Mendelssohn concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Although treated as a child prodigy, and apparently destined for a career as a concert violinist, he gave up the instrument in his early teens. This, he later explained, was after hearing Heifetz in person, and realising that he could never achieve such a level of tonal perfection. More...