Brubeck Brothers Quartet October 26, 2009

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet is an exciting jazz group featuring two members of one of America's most accomplished musical families, Daniel Brubeck (drums,) and Chris Brubeck (bass & trombone.) Guitarist Mike DeMicco, and pianist Chuck Lamb, complete this dynamic quartet. They have performed at concert series, colleges, and jazz festivals across North America and Europe including the Newport, Detroit, Ravinia, Las Vegas, Sedona, Spokane & Monterey Jazz Festivals. Their hour long concert at Sierra Nevada Brewery has been broadcast on the nationally syndicated program: "Sierra Center Stage". The BBQ was chosen to kick off the New Year with an hour long, coast-to-coast live broadcast on "Toast of the Nation" on National Public Radio. Their new Koch release, Classified, has already earned this rave review from All About Jazz: "Once again the BBQ attains that rarefied level where music is both relaxed and expressive, and their joy in its creation is contagious. There's really nothing out there that comes close to their unique brand of inventiveness."



These versatile musicians also collaborate with orchestras, and in 2006 ignited the Salt Lake City Jazz Festival by playing with the Utah Symphony conducted by Keith Lockhart. 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.



The Brubeck Brothers Quartet's debut Koch recording, Intuition, impressed the national jazz media and spent several weeks in the top ten radio charts while earning enthusiastic reviews from JazzTimes, Downbeat, Boston Globe and many other respected publications. "Intuition was measure for measure one of the hardest swinging sets of the year." (Philadelphia Inquirer) 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. For more information, see www.brubeckmusic.com.



Chris Brubeck: Composer, orchestral arranger, lyricist and performer, Christopher Brubeck is equally at home playing jazz, rock, classical, funk and folk music, displaying his multiple talents on three instruments. An award-winning composer, Chris has been called "…a 21st Century Leonard Bernstein" by John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune. Chris's composition, "Vignettes for Nonet," for woodwind quintet and The BBQ was commissioned by, and premiered at Bay Chamber Concerts, Rockport, Maine in August, 2003 to great acclaim. Since its premiere Vignettes has been performed by many woodwind quintets, including the Russian National Orchestra Woodwind Quintet. It is on the Brubeck Brothers Quartet's new Koch recording, Classified, with the ASCAP award-winning woodwind quintet, Imani Winds.



Chris's composition "Interplay for 3 Violins and Orchestra" featuring The Boston Pops and violin virtuoso Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Jazz violinist Regina Carter and Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers of Riverdance fame was broadcast on PBS' "Evening at Pops" and won the ASCAP Deems Taylor award for Chris for best composition for television broadcast. Chris has twice been named a Meet The Composer/Music Alive Composer. In addition to his instrumental work with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Chris tours, records and sings with his acoustic funk-blues group, Triple Play. Chris' new Koch International Classics CD, "Convergence," with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra features his "Prague Concerto for Bass Trombone." The L.A Times wrote "Chris has become one of the most capable electric bassists, delivering imaginative solos." The New York Post wrote of a Carnegie Hall performance, "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."



Drummer Daniel Brubeck is the rhythmic force of the BBQ and has toured the international music circuit for more than two decades. He has led his own group, The Dolphins, in addition to performing with the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet. As a featured soloist with many of the world's top jazz artists, his original drumming style and use of odd-time signatures have earned him international acclaim. With The Dolphins, he released three CDs that have been played extensively on U.S. and Japanese radio stations. His recording credits include performances with Larry Coryell, Livingston Taylor, Michael Franks and Roy Buchanan. Dan and Chris were featured on the Dave Brubeck CD "Live with the London Symphony Orchestra." Dan produced and played on "Trio Brubeck" a Music Masters CD with Dave & Chris Brubeck which received a Grammy Nomination. Dan has appeared on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, The Grammy Awards Show with an all-star jazz group including Dave Brubeck and Christian McBride, BBC specials and the nationally syndicated PBS series Jazz in America, as well as with Chris, Mike & Chuck on the Sierra Center Stage Concert Series broadcast on PBS. JazzTimes Magazine wrote about Dan: "Dan will cause your mouth to drop open when you hear him. To call his drum solos exciting is to sell him short, but it is awesome soloing like this that characterize the entire recording." His original drumming style, distinctive polyrhythmic solos, and use of odd time signatures have earned him standing ovations worldwide, and the respect of the international jazz community.



Mike DeMicco, guitarist and composer for the Brubeck Brothers Quartet (BBQ), has toured extensively worldwide since 1980. He grew up in the arts colony of Woodstock, New York, immersed in blues, jazz and rock music. His musical diversity has since led him to work with celebrated artists in many genres. For ten years, he performed and recorded with the acclaimed electric jazz quartet, The Dolphins, featuring Dan Brubeck; he has also recorded with Warren Bernhardt, Peter Erskine, Michael Franks, and James & Livingston Taylor, among many others. Mike has performed twice on the internationally syndicated PBS series, "Jazz In America"; at the major European jazz festivals; and with Dave Brubeck, Jack DeJohnette, Larry Coryell and Nick Brignola, to name a few. He was also featured guitarist on W.C. Handy Blues Award-winner Rory Block's "Tornado" tour of the US and Europe. Mike's new CD, "As The Sun Sets" (Blue Forest Records), showcases eight original compositions and features Warren Bernhardt (piano), Jay Anderson (acoustic bass), Rob Leon (electric bass) and Peter O'Brien (drums). "DeMicco's guitar is the perfect blend of soul, polish and technique." JazzTimes









Chuck Lamb, pianist, composer and percussionist, co-founded the group Dry Jack which was cited in the Rolling Stone History of Music as a premiere, cutting-edge jazz fusion group. He has garnered global acclaim including accolades for his creativity and expertise from a variety of publications including Billboard and Keyboard magazine, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has played with many musical greats including the Woody Herman Orchestra, Bela Fleck, Dave Holland, Eddie Jefferson, Ginger Baker, Tom Harrell, and Ernestine Anderson and has produced numerous recordings with his musical partner, vocalist /composer Theano Lamb. "Pianist Chuck Lamb sweeps together a stunningly comprehensive approach to the keyboard; he can play with elegance … or positively roar with the most leonine gestures. His imagination seems to know no bounds." (Erik Ericksson, Northeast Wisconsin Music Review) As a member of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet for the last 5 years, Chuck has toured the world and most of the inner solar system. "A very proficient pianist and an expert soloist ... his original compositions are varied and exuberant; his work is exemplary." DownBeat Magazine

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