Introduction

Biography

Iola spent her for­ma­tive years in north­ern Ca­li­for­nia, where her fa­ther worked in va­ri­ous lo­ca­tions as a for­est ran­ger.

After gra­du­at­ing as va­le­dic­to­ri­an of her high school class in Shas­ta, Ca­li­for­nia, she en­rolled at the Col­lege of the Pa­ci­fic in Stock­ton, Ca­li­for­nia, where she earned a Ba­che­lor of Arts de­gree.

In 1941, in the school’s con­cert hall, she met her fu­ture hus­band, jazz mu­si­cian Dave Bru­beck, whose ca­reer she helped man­age. She al­so wrote lyr­ics for ma­ny of his scores.