Concert Review: The Brubeck Brothers Quartet at the Dakota Jazz Club

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet: Daniel Brubeck on drums, Mike DeMicco on guitar, Chuck Lamb on piano, and Chris Brubeck on bass and trombone.

On Sunday night I saw the Brubeck Brothers Quartet at the Dakota Jazz Club. The group is made up of two of Dave Brubeck’s sons, Chris Brubeck on bass and trombone, and Daniel Brubeck on drums. They are joined by Chuck Lamb on piano and Mike DeMicco on guitar. I’m a big fan of Dave Brubeck’s music-I interned on a documentary about Brubeck that Hedrick Smith produced, and I’ve written about Brubeck a few times on this blog-I wrote this piece after Brubeck died and this essay about 10 Essential Dave Brubeck albums. 

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet put on an excellent show, full of lively and inventive jazz playing. Their show is also a nice memorial to their father’s legacy as a composer. Chris and Daniel both bear a resemblance to their father, and there were moments during the concert when Chris’s face would break into a large grin as he responded to a bandmate’s solo and I would think, “Yup, I’ve seen Dave Brubeck make that face too.” Like their father, Chris and Daniel take a joy and pleasure in what their bandmates are playing, and you could tell as Chris turned his attention on Chuck and Mike when they soloed that he was really listening to them. 

All four members of the group are excellent soloists. Daniel got a chance to stretch out on the drums during “The Jazzanians,” playing a fantastic solo. Chris played bass almost the entire evening, except for one trombone solo. Mike DeMicco’s guitar solos were superb, as smooth as Wes Montgomery at the Half Note. DeMicco also played with Dave Brubeck, and he played Paul Desmond’s melody line on “Take Five.” Chuck Lamb’s piano playing was outstanding and for me a highlight of the show was his new composition, which Chris said doesn’t have a name yet. It began with Lamb plucking the strings of the piano, and then playing a lengthy solo before the rest of the band joined in. Lamb’s style is very different from Dave Brubeck’s, but his playing still fit Brubeck’s songs very well. Side note: I love Dave Brubeck’s piano playing, but I haven’t heard many jazz pianists whose styles are similar to his. 

The concert opened with “Dance of the Shadows,” which had a Latin flavor. The other songs played were “Kathy’s Waltz,” from the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s most famous album, 1959’s Time Out, “Marian McPartland,” a tribute written by Dave to the longtime host of NPR’s Piano Jazz, “The Jazzanians,” and the last two songs of the evening were “Blue Rondo a la Turk” and “Take Five.” 

I got to chat with Chris for a minute or two after the show, and I told him of my distant connection to his father. (I did meet Chris briefly at Birdland in 2001 at the opening party for the documentary.) Chris was a warm and funny guy to chat with. If it had been a Friday or Saturday night instead of a Sunday, I would have stayed for the second show. If you’re a fan of Dave Brubeck or of great jazz, go see the Brubeck Brothers Quartet.

Concert Review: Tom Rush with Matt Nakoa at the Dakota Jazz Club

Tom Rush.

Last week I saw folksinger Tom Rush at the Dakota Jazz Club. I’ve seen Tom Rush several times before, as he’s one of my Mom’s favorite singers. I reviewed his 2013 show at the Cedar Cultural Center here. Rush has performed at the Dakota before, and the venue is a great fit for his laid-back style. Rush made his first records during the folk music boom of the early 1960’s, recording on the Elektra label. (My Mom is pretty sure she bought her first Tom Rush album just because he was on Elektra, which was known as a great folk label.) Rush is probably best known for his 1968 album The Circle Game, which included his best-known song “No Regrets.”

Rush is a great entertainer, whether he’s singing, playing the guitar, or telling stories. I’ve heard many of his stories before, but Rush tells them as though it’s the first time. His honeyed baritone makes it easy to listen to him spin stories of meeting Joni Mitchell, and becoming the first person to record her songs. Rush is also a fantastic guitar player, one of the great finger-pickers. As always, a highlight was his version of “Panama Limited,” as he makes his guitar imitate many different train sounds. 

Along for the ride with Rush was guitarist and pianist Matt Nakoa. I’ve seen Nakoa with Rush before, and his piano playing adds new textures to Rush’s songs. Rush played many new songs from a forthcoming album of all originals, and Nakoa played excellent blues piano on those tunes. 

The concert was another enjoyable evening of folk and blues from Tom Rush. Rush may be 76 years old, but he still plays this music with the joy and enthusiasm of a young man discovering it for the first time.