Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jon De Lucia: The Brubeck Octet Project
Jon De Lucia: The Brubeck Octet Project
ByRewind a decade or so and we encounter another space/time portal, this one connecting the U.S.A.'s East Coast and West Coast. In New York, in 1949-50, Miles Davis was fronting a nonet whose 78rpm singles were later compiled on the album Birth Of The Cool (Capitol, 1957). In Oakland, in 1948-49, Dave Brubeck was leading an octet whose 78rpm singles were later compiled on the album Dave Brubeck Octet (Fantasy, 1956).
The Davis and Brubeck bands were both exploring an approach to jazz that eschewed the heated intensity of bop. Both were experimenting with new, classically influenced harmonies and ensemble voicings. There was one significant difference between them: Davis' band, in the main, played original compositions, and Brubeck's, in the main, played covers, albeit harmonically, and often rhythmically, reimagined. (The Davis/Brubeck and Ayler/Mekurya parallels are not analogous in another way, since Davis and Brubeck would have known through the grapevine what each other was up to and must almost certainly have heard at least some of each other's recordings. But feel the Force or what?)
Fast forward seven decades, and the alto saxophonist Jon De Lucia has put together another octet, with Brubeck's instrumentation, this time on the East Coast. The band revisits twelve of Brubeck's scores. De Lucia has expanded Brubeck's original arrangements while retaining their spirit and he has done a beautiful job. The Brubeck Octet Project retains the vibe of the original recordings, being deliciously anachronistic while simultaneously modern (or perhaps that should be timeless), and the players (see Personnel) are on a par with the 1948-49 lineups. Audio quality is far richer and has considerably more presence than the indifferent sound of Brubeck's original tracks (check the YouTube below). The Brubeck Octet Project by no means cancels out Dave Brubeck Octet, but it seems probable that anyone who enjoys the earlier album will enjoy this 2024 salute.
Track Listing
Curtain Music; Love Walked In; Fugue On Bop Themes; Let’s Fall In Love; IPCA; September In The Rain; I Hear A Rhapsody; The Way You Look Tonight; Prelude; What Is This Things Called Love?; Love Me Or Leave Me; Closing Theme.
Personnel
Jon De Lucia
saxophone, altoBrandon Lee
trumpetScott Robinson
saxophone, tenorBecca Patterson
tromboneJay Rattman
saxophoneGlenn Zaleski
pianoDaniel Duke
bassKeith Balla
drumsAdditional Instrumentation
Jay Rattman: baritone saxophone, clarinet.
Album information
Title: The Brubeck Octet Project | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Museum Clausum
Tags
Comments
About Jon De Lucia
Instrument: Saxophone, alto
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar To