"Blue Rondo à la Turk"
Derivative pieces[edit]
Rock keyboardist Keith Emerson used this piece (uncredited) as a foundation of his "Rondo" beginning when he was with the progressive rock band The Nice; it appeared on the album The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack. Emerson's version was in 4
4 time and Brubeck, meeting with Emerson in 2003, described it to him as "your 4/4 version which I can't play."[4] Emerson, a great admirer of Brubeck, took this to mean that Brubeck preferred his own version, as Brubeck would have had no difficulty in playing Emerson's interpretation.[5]
Later, Emerson folded the melody into the 14-minute "Finale (Medley)" on the 1993 Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) release Live at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as improvisations on "Fanfare for the Common Man". Those medleys also included themes from other well-known tunes including "America" from West Side Story, "Toccata and Fugue in Dm", and "Flight of the Bumblebee".
Emerson frequently used "Rondo" as a closing number during performances both with The Nice and ELP.[6][7]
On his 1981 album Breakin' Away, Al Jarreau performed a vocal version of the song, with lyrics by himself.[8]
Popular culture[edit]
The track is used in the soundtracks of the 2005 comedy film Wedding Crashers, the 2003 Swedish documentary Närvarande, and an Emmy-award winning 2019 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Mad About the Toy".[9][10][11]