Chris Brubeck's Triple Play
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Saturday, April 25th, 2009 7:42 AM EDT
CHRIS BRUBECKChris Brubeck first distinguished himself as an innovative jazz/rock performer and composer. During the 70’s he began touring and recording with his father, Dave Brubeck. Chris plays bass, trombone, piano, guitar and sings and, in the past few decades, has earned international acclaim as composer, performer and leader of his own groups. On stage, his irrepressible enthusiasm is matched by his fluid command of jazz, blues, folk, funk, pop and classical musical styles. An award-winning composer, he is clearly tuned into the pulse of contemporary music. The respected music critic for The Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein calls Chris: “ In the last decade, Chris has created an impressive body of symphonic work while maintaining a demanding touring and recording schedule with his two bands, Triple Play and The Brubeck Brothers Quartet. Chris is on the road quite a bit, performing and recording with Triple Play, an acoustic blues/jazz/folk trio with vocals that includes guitarist Joel Brown and harmonica virtuoso Peter Madcat Ruth. Chris and Madcat met in high school and now have been performing together for nearly 40 years! In addition, Chris tours with his jazz quartet, the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, with his brother Dan on drums, Mike DeMicco on guitar and Chuck Lamb on piano. The BBQ recently released its second Koch recording, Classified featuring Chris’s composition for woodwind quintet and the BBQ “Vignettes for Nonet”. Chris is much in demand as an orchestral composer. In 2007, four of his major orchestral pieces premiered: “Quiet Heroes: A Symphonic Salute to the Flagraisers at Iwo Jima”, a moving piece for full orchestra and narrator which was commissioned by the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin, and was narrated by Wilford Brimley; “Music is the Power” with the Stockton Symphony, wherein Chris set Stockton high school students’ poetry about music for full orchestra, jazz quartet, soloist and chorus; in October, 2007, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra premiered “Spontaneous Combustion”, a fiery violin concerto Chris wrote for the talented violin soloist Nick Kendall; and the following month Chris and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra premiered his piece “From the Blues to Beyond”, a concerto for trumpet and trombone with full orchestra. In 2006 Chris’s second symphonic CD, Convergence, on Koch International Classics featuring the Czech National Symphony Orchestra was released. The disc is entirely comprised of Chris’s original compositions including Frederica von Stade singing “River of Song”, the title composition, “Convergence” and also includes Chris performing his second major trombone work, “Prague Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra”. Reviewing Convergence, Fanfare Magazine wrote: “Brubeck’s skill both as composer and soloist is extraordinary.” On special occasions, Chris continues to guest on bass and trombone with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Chris has worked with many diverse artists, including Frederica von Stade, Ben Luxon, Dawn Upshaw, Bill Crofut, Meryl Streep, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Gerry Mulligan, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, Stephane Grappelli, Bobby Womack, Tower of Power, and Patti Labelle. His compositions have been performed by orchestras all around the world, including the prominent U.S. orchestras of Boston, Houston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. Saturday, April 25th, 2009 7:37 AM EDT
PETER MADCAT RUTHPeter Madcat Ruth has established an international reputation through his exhilarating, riveting virtuosity on the harmonica. His expertise on this instrument has amazed audiences world-wide. He is equally at home playing blues, folk music, jazz, country, or rock and roll. Performance Magazine refers to him as "A harmonica virtuoso who is rapidly approaching legend status." Madcat's music has been evolving for over 40 years. It started in the Chicago area in the early 1960's, with Madcat playing folk/blues on guitar and harmonica. By the late 60's he had immersed himself in the Chicago Blues and was studying harmonica with Big Walter Horton. In the early 70's Madcat moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he was a key presence in two of Ann Arbor's finest progressive rock bands: New Heavenly Blue and Sky King. By the mid 70's Madcat was touring the world with jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. In the 80's, Madcat went solo infusing the folk/blues tradition with elements of rock and jazz. In 1990, Madcat teamed up with guitarist/singer Shari Kane to form the duo Madcat & Kane. For the past sixteen years they have been touring nationally and internationally. Madcat's experience is extensive. He has been an invited guest performer at many harmonica festivals in the United States and Europe. His harmonica playing is heard on over 90 record albums. National television and radio appearances, symphony orchestra performances, radio and television advertisements, and harmonica workshops all attest to Madcat's reputation as one of the best and most versatile harmonica players in the world. Madcat is more than an expert musician. He is also performer who has such a good time playing music that audiences, ranging from pre-schoolers to senior citizens, delight in his performances. His enthusiasm is unpretentious and contagious. Saturday, April 25th, 2009 7:34 AM EDT
JOEL BROWNGuitarist Joel Brown's eclectic career has taken him to England to record with the London Symphony, to Carnegie Hall with soprano Dawn Upshaw, and recital performances with Frederica von Stade. He has appeared at New York's Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of The Lincoln Center, the Tanglewood Festival, the Chamber Music Festival at Saratoga, Music in the Mountains in British Columbia and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to touring and recording with Triple Play, Joel has appeared as concerto soloist with the Martinu Chamber Orchestra in the Czech Republic as well as many other orchestras across the U.S. He is the founding member of the unique flute, guitar and cello trio, TRITONIS, whose CD, Five Premiers: Chamber Music with Guitar contains five new pieces that Brown commissioned. TRITONIS has been featured at the Guitar Foundation of America Festival in Miami, The National Flute Association Convention in both New York and Boston, the Caramoor Festival, the Ithaca College Guitar Festival, the Juilliard School, the Cleveland Institute of Music as well as many other venues across the country. Joel also helped create the highly regarded CD Chords and Thyme with guitarist Edward Flower on the Dorian label that Guitar Player Magazine called “beautiful and imaginative”. Joel worked with Bill Crofut and Chris Brubeck for nearly a decade and was an integral part of their recordings, Lullabies and Dances, Unsquare Dance, Red, White and Blues, and Bartok and Kodaly, all on Albany Records. Joel is also the featured guitarist on a recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, Bach to Brubeck on Koch International Classics with Bill Crofut and Chris Brubeck. This CD includes the world premiere of a Bach lute prelude transformed into a miniature guitar concerto by Chris with Joel as soloist. Guitar Review said of this performance “Brown’s robust tone and lyrical phrasing balances beautifully with the orchestra, delivering a performance that is exquisite and memorable.” Joel is also featured with Frederica von Stade on Across Your Dreams, with the Empire Brass on King’s Court and Celtic Fair, and Bill Crofut's final recording, Dance on a Moonbeam, all on Telarc Records. His newest CD, Christmas Cedar and Spruce was released on Albany Records this year, and features Chris, and Peter Madcat Ruth as well as members of Joel’s family. A recent Public Radio East review writes: “Joel Brown and his unassuming disc, Christmas Cedar and Spruce, grabbed my attention so thoroughly that it’s the only one I can imagine writing about. Brown and his friends have cooked up a nearly perfect program for the holiday season.” Joel is Senior-Artist-in-Residence at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. |