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Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society Presents the Straight-Ahead Jazz of the Drummer and Bassist Duo the Brubeck Brothers
May 29th, 2022 @ 4:30pm - 6:30pm
$45
Chris and Dan Brubeck have been making music together practically all their lives.
Drummer Dan and bassist, trombonist, and composer Chris cut their first record together in 1966— more than a half century ago.
Rooted in straight-ahead jazz, they’ve played a variety of styles in a number of different groups, as well as with their father, jazz giant Dave Brubeck, and with their own Brubeck Brothers Quartet.
The group’s creativity, technique and improvisation can be heard in their uncompromising music, which reflects their dedication to melody, rhythm, culture and the spontaneous spirit of jazz.
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Chris Brubeck – Bass & Trombone
Dan Brubeck – Drums
Michael DeMicco -Guitar
Chuck Lamb – Piano
Bio
Chris and Dan Brubeck have been making music together practically all their lives. Drummer Dan and bassist, trombonist, and composer Chris cut their first record together in 1966—nearly a half century ago. They’ve subsequently played a variety of styles in a number of different groups, as well as with their father, jazz giant Dave Brubeck, and with their own Brubeck Brothers Quartet. With Dan and Chris as the foundation, guitarist Mike DeMicco and pianist Chuck Lamb, complete this dynamic quartet. They perform at concert series, colleges, and jazz festivals across North America and Europe including the Newport, Detroit, Montreal, Playboy/Hollywood Bowl, and Monterey Jazz Festivals. The Quartet’s last cd, LifeTimes was a hit on the Jazz Week radio chart where it made the Top Ten list as one of the most played jazz recordings of the year.
“The playing that takes place on LifeTimes – the wondrous combination of swing, melodic majesty, masterful arrangements and a truckload of truly inspirational solos – just adds a vibrancy and color to songs I thought I knew and loved on a deep level. It turns out that there was still plenty of depth I could have discovered. I just needed someone to point the way and that is exactly what these four gentleman have done through LifeTimes.” – Seattle Times
These versatile musicians also collaborate with orchestras all across the U.S. as well as internationally, including performing with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and the Russian National Orchestra. With Chris Brubeck’s compositions as a vehicle, the BBQ has joined with chamber groups to collaborate with musicians from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Russian National Symphony Orchestra.
Although the Quartet’s style is rooted in “straight-ahead” jazz, their concerts reveal an inherent ability to explore and play odd time signatures while naturally integrating the influences of funk, blues and world music. The group’s creativity, technique and improvisation can be heard in their uncompromising music, which reflects their dedication to melody, rhythm, culture and the spontaneous spirit of jazz.
The Players
Meet Chris
Grammy-nominated composer Chris Brubeck continues to distinguish himself as a creative force and multi-faceted performer on fretless bass, bass trombone and piano. An award-winning writer, he is clearly tuned into the pulse of contemporary music. The respected music critic for The Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein calls Chris: “a composer with a real flair for lyrical melody–a 21st Century Lenny Bernstein.”
Chris has created an impressive body of symphonic work while maintaining a demanding touring and recording schedule with his two groups: the Brubeck Brothers Quartet (with brother Dan on drums), and Triple Play, an acoustic trio featuring Chris on piano, bass and trombone along with guitarist Joel Brown and harmonica player extraordinaire Peter Madcat Ruth. After a concert with Triple Play in California, Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times wrote: Triple Play was rollicking good fun … led by bassist, trombonist and pianist Chris Brubeck, the trio stole the show with its flair and virtuosity.”
The Brubeck Brothers Quartet (Chris, Dan and Chuck Lamb on piano and Mike DeMicco on guitar) continues to tour and has released 5 cds over the years that have consistently hit the top of the jazz radio charts. Jazz reviewer Ted Gioia writes about the BBQ: “..a stellar rhythm section — clean, crisp swing with great interaction between the players. Dan Brubeck’s drumming is a revelation. Some serious fraternal camaraderie is going down here.”
Chris is a much sought-after composer, and has been commissioned to write many innovative orchestral concertos for a variety of artists, including celebrated guitarist Sharon Isbin, Canadian Brass, Time for Three, Nick Kendall, Muir String Quartet and other commissions from The Boston Pops, Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Portland Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and many others.
Chris’s highly acclaimed Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra, has been played by many of the top bass trombonists in the world and was recorded with Chris as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Fanfare Magazine wrote “Brubeck’s skill both as composer and soloist is extraordinary.” April 2009 saw the premiere of “Ansel Adams: America”, an exciting orchestral piece written by Chris and Dave Brubeck. It was commissioned by a consortium of eight orchestras and is accompanied by 100 of Ansel Adams’ majestic images projected above the orchestra. In 2013, “Ansel Adams: America” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition, and has gone on to be performed by dozens of orchestras.
Chris was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet for 16 years and was a frequent guest artist with the Quartet before and after that time period. He was featured on dozens of recordings with the DBQ and had the pleasure of playing all the great jazz festivals in the world. With the DBQ he often collaborated with symphony orchestras, and continues that tradition today as a soloist and with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet and Triple Play. Over the course of his career, Chris has performed with such diverse talents as Paul Desmond, BB King, Gerry Mulligan, Frederica von Stade, Stephane Grappelli, Willie Nelson, and Jamie Cullum.
“Chris has become one of the most capable electric bassists, delivering imaginative solos.” – L.A. Times
“The high point of the night came when Chris horned in on a beautifully reflective solo and switching instruments, blew one of the best trombone solos I’ve heard in years.” – The New York Post
