DAVE BRUBECK: A JAZZ LEGEND
Dave Brubeck in Moscow with Maria Maskhulia, soprano soloist from Moscow's New Opera, rehearsing an aria in preparation for the RNO's 1997 performance of Dave Brubeck's composition "To Hope! A Celebration."
Dave Brubeck is a living legend and jazz icon. In 1999, the National Endowment for the Arts presented him a Jazz Master's Award in recognition of his ongoing contribution to jazz. He has also received the National Medal of the Arts from President Clinton in a White House ceremony. His musical contributions as both pianist and composer have been honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. These are but a few of the honors bestowed upon this elder statesman of jazz, whose career spans six decades.
The youngest of three musical brothers, Dave Brubeck was born in Concord, California, on December 6, 1920. His father was a cattle rancher and his mother a pianist and music teacher. He entered the College of the Pacific, Stockton, California, as a pre-med student with the idea of becoming a veterinarian and returning to the ranch. Working his way through school as a jazz pianist in local clubs, he decided to forsake the cattle business and changed his college major to music.
In 1942 he enlisted in the Army where he served under Patton in the European Theater. Upon his discharge in 1946, Dave studied composition with Darius Milhaud. Milhaud encouraged Brubeck to pursue a career in both jazz and composition.
The Dave Brubeck Trio with Cal Tjader and Ron Crotty cut their first records in San Francisco in 1949 and won Best Small Combo awards in both the Critics and the Reader's Polls in Down Beat Magazine. When the Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond on alto saxophone was formed in 1951, the distinctive harmonic approach employed by Brubeck and Desmond, and their improvised contrapuntal choruses caused a stir in the jazz world. They won the first jazz poll conducted by The Pittsburgh Courier and repeatedly won top honors in Down Beat Reader's polls. By 1954 Brubeck's popularity was such that his picture appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and his recordings were being played throughout the world. His album "Time Out" with the hits "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk" "went gold," a rare feat for an instrumental jazz recording.
In 1958 the State Department sent the Quartet on a three-month tour of countries "behind the Iron Curtain" and the Middle East. Subsequent world tours by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, including several for the U.S. State Department, made jazzman Dave Brubeck one of America's foremost goodwill ambassadors.
Always expanding jazz horizons, in 1959 the Dave Brubeck Quartet performed and recorded with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. An early experimenter in combining jazz with symphony orchestras, Brubeck continues to appear as composer-performer in concerts of his choral and symphonic compositions. He celebrated his 80th birthday with the London Symphony Orchestra performing an all-Brubeck program which was recorded as a part of the LSO Live series. In 1997 he recorded the video and DVD "Brubeck Returns to Moscow" with the Russian National Orchestra, produced by Daniel Wilson Productions of New York. The two-hour program features the Brubeck mass "To Hope! A Celebration" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk," along with interviews and rehearsal footage.
On November 8, 2002 the Austrian government awarded Dave the highest award given in the arts, the Honor Cross for Science and Art. Former recipients include Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti and Leonard Bernstein. In October of 2003, the Library of Congress declared Dave Brubeck a "Living Legend" to honor his creative contributions to American life. The University of the Pacific has honored him by the establishment of The Brubeck Institute dedicated to the promulgation of contemporary music of all styles, with an emphasis on jazz and improvisation.
In August of 2003, Telarc International released to great critical acclaim "Classical Brubeck," which was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Voices and the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This two-CD set features three of Dave Brubeck's major works for chorus and orchestra, as well as the elegant composition for string orchestra, "Regret." In January of 2004, Naxos Records released a new recording of Dave Brubeck's "The Gates Of Justice." Also in 2004, the Legacy division of Sony Music released a five-CD set called "For All Time", containing all the recordings made under the "Time" series from 1959-1963. In January of 2004, Dave Brubeck was back in the recording studio for a solo piano CD called "Private Brubeck Remembers," honoring the 60th anniversary of D-Day.
Dave's joy in performing and his daring improvisations continue to challenge and excite new generations of musicians and listeners.
Bobby Militello
Dave Brubeck first heard Bobby Militello with the Maynard Ferguson band at a jazz Festival in Sugar Bush, Vermont. At a later jazz festival in Saratoga, New York, Bob surprised Dave by stepping out of the sax section and performing a dazzling solo on flute. Brubeck made a mental note to remember that young musician. A few years later, when there was an opening for a horn player in the quartet, Dave tracked down Militello through his old "boss" Maynard Ferguson. He invited Bobby, along with other talented reed men in the New York area, to audition. Bobby Militello arrived at the try-out already knowing most of the Quartet's repertoire. He improvised with equal facility on alto and tenor sax and flute. He has remained an integral part of the Brubeck quartet ever since, performing with Dave since 1982 in choral and symphonic settings as well as jazz concerts and festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
A native of Buffalo, New York, where he resides, Bobby was recently named Buffalo's Citizen of the Year. He owns and manages the Tralf, a popular nightclub in that city. With his sister and brother he owns and operates the Bijou Grille. As president of RPM Entertainment productions, he frequently acts as producer of special events in Buffalo. He has appeared a number of times with the Buffalo Philharmonic, performing contemporary works by Pat Williams and Michel LeGrand.
Bobby's tour with the Maynard Ferguson band extended from 1975-1979. During this time he made five recordings with the band and doubled as road manager. Later he became active in Hollywood studios, recording soundtracks for television, films and commercials. He has recorded with numerous Los Angeles-based big bands, including Bill Holman and Bob Florence. As well he has lead his own jazz groups that have ranged in style from fusion, Latin and blues to funk.
Bobby has been featured on many Brubeck recordings and television appearances. His most recent albums with the Dave Brubeck Quartet are "The Crossing," "So What's New?," "The 40th Anniversary Tour of the U.K."--most of which was recorded live at Royal Festival Hall in London in 1998-- "Live in the UK and USA," "Classical Brubeck" recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, and "Park Avenue South."
His adaptability and sensitivity to all facets of music are evident in the wide spectrum of music he has performed with Dave Brubeck, ranging from Brubeck's mass "To Hope!" to straight-ahead jazz heard on the "Late Night" and "Nightshift" CD's recorded live at the Blue Note club in New York City. Bobby has appeared several times with the London Symphony Orchestra and is featured on the "LSO Live" recording from Dave Brubeck's 80th birthday concert.
Randy Jones
When British-born Randy Jones first came to the United States, he received immediate critical recognition. He played with such jazz greats as Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Milt Jackson, Bill Watrous and Harry James. He was invited to join the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1978 and has remained with them ever since.
Jones started work as a drummer at the age of sixteen, touring Germany with an English rock and roll group. During his early career he played mostly rock and pop for TV and recording sessions. When the opportunity came to play jazz with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, which was then based in England, he jumped at the chance. During the six years he was with Ferguson's band, he made numerous recordings and worked with such singing stars as Cleo Laine, Tony Bennett and Billy Eckstine.
He has recorded many albums with the Quartet on the Telarc International, MusicMasters and Concord Jazz labels. He has toured with the Dave Brubeck Quartet throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan and has appeared with them on numerous TV shows in the US, Japan, and Europe. His most recent recordings for Telarc are "Classical Brubeck" and "Park Avenue South" and for Naxos, "The Gates of Justice."
Randy Jones is renowned as a versatile drummer, capable of swinging a big band, or dynamically weaving intricate patterns in the Quartet's odd time signatures. An avid collector of classical recordings, his solos reflect that interest with an unusually strong sense of melodic form and compositional structure.
Michael Moore
The newest member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet is bassist, Michael Moore, an acknowledged master of his instrument, and leader of his own duo and trio that features the bass as a solo instrument. Michael Moore has brought new recognition to an instrument once primarily regarded as a timekeeper.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Michael's musical training began at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He studied privately with Frank Proto of the Cincinnati Symphony and Harold Roberts and Orin O'Brian of the New York Philharmonic. After joining the Woody Herman Band at the age of twenty, Michael became an important player in the New York jazz scene. In the next few years he recorded and performed with the Who's Who of jazz including such luminaries as Marian McPartland, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Gary Burton, Jim Hall, Zoot Simms, Jimmy Rowles, Gene Bertoncini, Benny Goodman, Ruby Braff, Jimmy Raney, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Konitz, Tony Bennett, John Scofield, Bob Brookmeyer, Gil Evans and the list goes on and on. John S. Wilson of the New York Times described Michael as "one of the most consistently brilliant bassists in recent history."
Michael has recorded three albums thus far with Dave Brubeck. "Classical Brubeck" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra. "Park Avenue South" was recorded live in New York City, and "The Gates of Justice" was recorded in Baltimore with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.
In addition to his active career as a professional musician, Michael is an adjunct professor at William Patterson College and Long Island University, where he is teaching a generation of young bass players how to bring a strong melodic sense to their solos and an understanding of the supportive role of bass within an ensemble.
Russell Gloyd
Russell Gloyd has established for himself an incredibly diverse career as a conductor, producer, and arranger. Since 1976 he has been associated with Dave Brubeck and has conducted the many symphonic and choral appearances of the Dave Brubeck Quartet in the United States and around the world.
As a guest conductor, Mr. Gloyd has appeared with orchestras across North America and has conducted and recorded with some of the premier choral organizations of the United States. Internationally he has conducted and recorded with symphonies in Germany, Russia, Scotland, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, South Africa and Poland. He made his London debut with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1989, and has conducted them on seven other occasions. In June of 2004, Gloyd was one of seven conductors participating in the 100th Anniversary concert of the LSO, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1995 he made his debut in Vienna conducting the European premiere of the Brubeck Christmas cantata "La Fiesta de la Posada," and returned in 2000 for the Viennese premiere of the Brubeck mass "To Hope! A Celebration." In April of 2003 he was back in Vienna conducting the European premier of Dave Brubeck's Easter oratorio "Beloved Son." He has toured twice with the Bach Collegium of Munich and since 1996 he has been a regular guest conductor with the Kammerorchester Schloss Werneck throughout Germany. In November of 2004, Gloyd will conduct performances of "To Hope!" in Salzburg at the Festspielhaus and in Vienna at St. Stephan's Cathedral.
He has conducted the Italian/Swiss Radio Orchestra of Lugano, Switzerland on three separate occasions, each one being televised live throughout Europe, and has live CD recordings on Telarc International, MusicMasters and LSO Live with the London Symphony Orchestra. In May of 2002 Gloyd was back in London recording with the London Symphony at famed Abbey Road Studios. This two-CD set entitled "Classical Brubeck" has now been released by Telarc International. In January of 2004, Naxos Records released the recording of Brubeck's "The Gates Of Justice" conducted by Gloyd.
As a producer he has been actively involved in all aspects of electronic media. In addition to working with several major record labels, he has produced the soundtrack for feature films as well as many different television productions.