Brubeck is a big name in the jazz world — not only because of the legendary Dave Brubeck, but also because of what his sons are currently doing. And on Monday, jazz fans can hear two of those sons — Chris and Dan — at a Brubeck Brothers Quartet concert.
"I just love a jazz concert," Chris Brubeck said by phone from Connecticut. "It's an amazing, fun experience."
Although — like his father — Brubeck involves himself in a broad variety of musical genres, he said that jazz is unique because of the improvisational element. "You witness the thrill of creation. I was in Hawaii, and this guy took me to see the volcano erupting, and I could see the lava flow actually, literally hitting the ocean. You could see the lava dropping in the ocean, hitting, with the splash going in the air, and these hot particles coming down as black sand. It was so cool to really see creation at work.
"Somehow, subconsciously, I find that jazz as an art form is somewhat like that, and if you understand that, you can't beat it for an exciting thing to check out."
The Brubeck Brothers will be joined by guitarist Mike DeMicco and pianist Taylor Eigsti. Brubeck said that Eigsti is a guest pianist, especially selected for this concert because of his skill and young age (Eigsti is 18). "Since (the GAM foundation) does so much with kids, I thought it would be really great to show these kids that here's someone basically your age who is kicking butt and taking names."
Brubeck said that he met Eigsti following a concert, when Eigsti's mother brought him backstage to meet the band. At the time, the pianist was only 11, and Brubeck admitted that he took the mother's glowing accolades with a grain of salt.
But he recognized Eigsti's talent when — at 14 — the boy played a fund-raising concert with him and his brother Dan Brubeck. "I was just astounded because we were bringing charts into him that I know he'd never seen before, because they were original tunes I'd written. And that's when you really get a sense of how quick a musician is, when you know they're reading something and they're just playing their butt off, just reading it down. It was like working with a veteran musician who was 30 years old by the time he was 14."
Although the Brubeck Brothers Quartet welcomes Eigsti to play with them on a fairly regular basis, because of Eigsti's emerging career as an independent artist, he hasn't joined them as their full-time pianist. Eigsti did, however, record with the Brubeck Brothers on their most recent CD, "Intuition."
On the second release by the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, the album features entirely original material written by Brubeck and guitarist DeMicco. "When you've done as many records as I have now — which is probably heading in the 50 direction or something like that — there are takes that fall apart and aren't good, there are takes that are acceptable, and then there are takes that are 'Wow! That is so cool!' I feel lucky that we had a tape recorder running when we played that."
Brubeck said that some of the tracks on the album are some of those magical takes, such as "Parade du Funk," which he said features exceptionally good drumming by Dan Brubeck. "I just really love that, because there's an example of Dan doing stuff that I don't think you're going to hear any other drummer be able to do in terms of odd time signatures and being funky."
Naturally, when they come to Salt Lake, the Brubeck Brothers will play selections from the CD, although Brubeck said that they would also mix in some classic Dave Brubeck charts, as well as some other tunes.
Brubeck said that they will probably be emphasizing the topic of playing in odd time signatures, something that is somewhat of a trademark for the band.
What: Brubeck Brothers
Where: Sheraton City Centre
When: Monday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $25
Phone: 278-0411
Web: www.jazzatthesheraton.com
Also: Monday, 10:30 a.m., Libby Gardener Concert Hall, free jazz-education workshop
E-mail: rcline@desnews.com