Darius Brubeck (piano); Dave O'Higgins (tenor sax); Matt Ridley (bass); Wesley Gibbens (drums)
Following on from the quartet's album Live in Poland, Live Again takes them to Italy - these jazz musicians do get around!
It's a worthwhile trip. Darius has undoubtedly inherited his dad's talents as composer, pianist, improviser and bandleader with all four musicians given their moment in the sun.
Matt's Different Views, composed by Ridley, is a short solo track featuring the composer - his different views are all about Brexit.
Darius' Brexit Blues continues down that well trodden road to perdition with O'Higgins flying into the unknown. He's on fire before he gets there! Darius maintains the family tradition with some chunky chords and fleet of finger flights with Ridley again having his say.
Playing the Changes, composed by Darius for a documentary - Playing the Changes: Tracking Darius Brubeck - opens with an extended piano solo followed by solos from O'Higgins and Ridley with Gibbens beavering away in the engine room.
Autumn Elegy is indeed elegiac. O'Higgins' plaintive probing would have worked equally well with the elegy by Gray. Darius composed this on a rainy day and it shows. Substitute elegy with elegance.
Prelude & Funque. Cleverly titled, Darius incorporates Bach's Prelude No. 20 in A minor with Stevie Wonder's Superstition. Bach really does go to town.
Transkei. O'Higgins is rested on this South African influenced piece which is primarily a piano/drum duet with South African bassist Ridley filling in any gaps.
SLEE refers to the initials of Darius' first grandchild - Sadie Leah Engel Elmer. It's a very pleasing piece in waltz time although with those initials school is going to be more rock 'n' roll - "Hey Sleezy!" Great drumming from Gibbens.
Searching For. O'Higgins' extended cadenza does suggest a man on a mission. His angular lines explore every nook and cranny, every note of the instrument from bottom Bb to top F# and beyond - way beyond. It's breathtaking and done without the safety (or the constraints) of a rhythm section. Did he find what he was searching for - who knows?
Somebody in Seoul. The quartet say arrivederci to Palermo where the concert took place and hello to Menuhin Hall in Surrey for the final track. Inspired by Darius' interest in popular Korean culture he sets an Arirang style melody over some western changes (Loverman?) to good effect.
Darius hasn't copied Dave (Brubeck) he's very much his own man although the influence of his late father is never far away. It will sit proudly alongside the classic recordings by Dave Brubeck. Also by opting for tenor rather than alto further comparisions are avoided. Well worth checking out. Released November 6. Lance
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