All that Jazz—it was sizzlin' HOT!
Last night I had the distinct pleasure of attending a jazz concert at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Headlining the evenings musical entertainment was the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
I was looking forward to this event, but I was completely blown away by the music from Brubeck's All My Hope (1979) and Pange Lingua Variations (1983). The combination of a full orchestra, grand chorus and jazz quartet was absolutely one of the best musical experiences of my life. At 88 years of age, Dave Brubeck is killer on the piano! Bobby Militello's mastery on the tenor sax will make you weep. Michael Moore's bass playing resonates with your heart and Randy Jones on the drums will have your entire body keeping time.
The second half of the concert was all jazz performances by the Brubeck Quartet and the UNT's One O'Clock Lab Band. Brubeck and his cohorts worked with the One O'Clock Lab Band for several days. It's wonderful to know that a living legend and his musical colleagues share their gifts through mentoring with young up and coming jazz musicians. So, there was a lot of wailing saxophones, poignant piano playing, fabulous bass strunning and outrageous drumming going on. The combination of the Lab Band and the Brubeck Quartet was a joy to behold. You could see and hear the excitement building in the young band members and how much they were inspired by this opportunity to play with true masters of the jazz genre.
Dave Brubeck, designated a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, continues to be one of the most active and popular musicians in both jazz and classical worlds. With a career that spans over six decades, his experiments in odd time, signatures, improvised counterpoint, polyrythm and poly-tonality remain hallmarks of innovation. If you haven't heard any of Brubeck's compositions or performances by him and his quartet you are missing out.
If you are a music fan check out the University of North Texas School of Music website to learn about their incredible music program and receive information for live performances.
The following videos are from YouTube.com featuring the Dave Brubeck Quartet playing "Take Five." I've include two renditions for you to enjoy from 1961 and 1966!
Photo credits: First photo (color) by Linda Bourgault. Second photo (B & W) from Wikipedia.
Copyright 2009 Linda Bourgault and lulugraphix. All rights reserved.
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