DARIUS BRUBECK AND HIS QUARTET - CHIDDINGLY JAZZ EVENT
An amazing jazz session last Saturday in Chiddlingly, a small rural community in South England. A warm audience that certainly loves good music, the intimate atmosphere, and the great musicians made it a superb show.
They played a world wide music selection, jazz standards, Darius own compositions and a repertoire with African and Brazilian influences. I feel privileged to attend to this show and mostly happy to notice that the song he made to Lydia, the beloved grand-daughter, is a Bossa Nova Song. And the one that opened the show, by Abdullah Ibrahin is a Xaxado, a rhythm from Brazilian Northeast.
Thanks Darius for this marvelous show - you and your young musicians are excellent!
Darius Brubeck on piano
Paul Greenwood on sax, clarinet and flute
Wesley Gibbens on drums
Matt Ridley on bass
Darius Brubeck Quartet
Jack Massarik's rating
* * *
South African connection from Darius Brubeck
By Jack Massarik, Evening Standard
Like father, like son: Darius Brubeck
To have a superstar father can open early doors for a musician but later become a career handicap, especially when both play the same instrument. It was therefore understandable to find pianist-composer Darius Brubeck not mentioning Papa Dave (still active at 88) despite the similarities in their music.
Arriving onstage after an hour of vaguely Mediterranean fingerstyle solo guitar by the skilful Claude Bourbon, Darius revealed an unexpectedly strong South African connection. Possibly to minimise family influences, he had studied pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and spent several years in Durban.
Backed by drummer Wesley Gibbens and saxman-flautist Paul Greenwood, he played three tuneful township-style originals but blood is thicker than water. All these songs came across in his father’s percussive chordal style.
“Such a pleasure to play this room’s Steinway,†remarked the man named after composer Darius Milhaud.His choice of jazz standard, Better Git It In Your Soul, featured waltz-time handclapping.
His latest piece, A Sea of Troubles, had chord changes reminiscent of Dave’s In Your Own Sweet Way. And his version of That’s All transposed boldly into 7/8 time. All very Brubeckish.