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Jon De Lucia: The Brubeck Octet Project

By Chris May
June 28, 2024
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Synchronicity is a wondrous thing. Item: At around the same time that

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler was developing his sound in the U.S.A., the Ethiopian tenor saxophonist

" data-original-title="" title="">Getatchew Mekurya was forging a strikingly similar one in Addis Ababa. Neither player had heard the other, and Mekurya had never heard any jazz at all. Feel the Force?

Rewind 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

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">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

piano
1920 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">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

saxophone, alto
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">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.

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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, alto

Brandon Lee

trumpet

Scott Robinson

saxophone, tenor

Becca Patterson

trombone

Jay Rattman

saxophone

Glenn Zaleski

piano

Daniel Duke

bass

Keith Balla

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Jay Rattman: baritone saxophone, clarinet.

Album information

Title: The Brubeck Octet Project | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Museum Clausum

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