Brubeck, Darius

 

b. San Francisco, USA, 14 June 1947

 

Darius Brubeck is the Director of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music and Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Natal, Durban. In 1983 he initiated the first degree course in Jazz Studies offered by an African University. 

 

Before 1983, Brubeck toured internationally with Two Generations of Brubeck and The New Brubeck Quartet (Dave, Darius, Chris and Dan Brubeck), made TV appearances and recorded for Atlantic Records. In 1997 Telarc released “In Their Own Sweet Way” which features Darius with his father and brothers. 

Brubeck and Victor Ntoni formed Afro Cool Concept in 1989 and this band has performed in the USA, Italy, Thailand and all over Southern Africa, including major festivals such as North Sea and the National Jazz festival, held in Grahamstown. Bassist Bongani Sokhela replaced Ntoni in 1996, joining South Africa’s premier alto saxophonist, Barney Rachabane and drummer Lulu Gontsana in the group. Afro Cool Concept has just released “Still on my Mind” for Sheer Sound. 

 

Brubeck has given workshops worldwide and performed in Istanbul, Peru and Sweden with University based bands. One of these bands, Darius Brubeck and the NU Jazz Connection featured South African trumpet player Feya Faku. Both Afro Cool Concept and the NU Jazz Connection made recordings for B & W Music. Many of the members of the first student band (The Jazzanians) that Brubeck took to the USA to perform at the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference are now well known in their own right, for example Zim Ngqawana. 

 

Under another band name Gathering Forces, Brubeck often plays with virtuoso bansuri (Indian flute) player, Deepak Ram. Their premiere concert was also released by B & W. In 1997 Gathering Forces received excellent reviews at the “Fin de Siecle” festival in Nantes. A new adaptation, Darius Brubeck and Gathering Forces, performed especially composed music at the “World Conference against Racism” in September 2001 and this presentation was broadcast on television worldwide. In 2002, Kofi Annan and Heads of States attending the African Union conference in Durban danced to South African jazz played by the Brubeck band. 

 

Brubeck has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, which played four of his arrangements as part of a programme honoring his father's 70th and 75th birthday and he composed a piece especially for the 80th birthday concert celebrations in December 2000, which has been released on CD (LSO 0011). 

 

In 1999/2000 Brubeck was on a Fellowship at the University of Nottingham where he hosted a jazz concert series. He has presented jazz on national radio and has worked for the development of jazz in South Africa as a performer, producer, educator and composer. 

 

 

COMPOSITIONS:

 

A Groove For The Road 

 

At Sixes & Sevens 

 

Before it’s too late 

 

Blues For What's Wrong 

 

Circles 

 

Daveyton Special 

 

Earthrise 

 

Fire Tiger 

 

For God's Sake Elizabeth 

 

Friendship Raga/Boogie 

 

Four Score In Seven 

 

Gathering Forces 

 

Gathering Forces 2 

 

Gathering Forces 3 

 

How Come You Aren't Happy 

 

Humanity Ha No Colour 

 

I Say There's Hope 

 

In the Spanish Mode 

 

Just Think About What Happens 

 

Kearsage Strut 

 

Light Commando 

 

Lunacy Stomp # 1 

 

Lydia 

 

Matt the Cat 

 

Midnight Sailor 

 

Mirth 

 

Moon City 

 

Moscow Mardi Gras 

 

Ninety Three Sorrows 

 

October 

 

Our Time of Parting 

 

Raga Theme for Raghu 

 

Ravely Street 

 

Return 

 

Riviera Winter 

 

Same Sham Shame 

 

Sky Scape 

 

Something There Is 

 

Temptation Boogie

 

Thank God There Is You 

 

The Just Will Live by Faith 

 

The Last Shall Be First 

 

The Lion at the Bar 

 

The Parrot 

 

The Rainbow 

 

The Secret One 

 

Three Mile Island 

 

Tin Sink 

 

Tugela Rail 

 

Two Thousand Minus Three 

 

You'll Lose

 

Discography:

1971 “Chaplin’s Back” - Paramount Records 

 

1972 “Two Generations of Brubeck” - Atlantic Records 

 

1974 “Brother The Great Spirit Made us All” - Atlantic Records 

 

1977 The New Brubeck Quartet - “Live at Montreux”, Tomato Records 

 

1978 Larry Coryell “Return”, Vanguard Records 

 

1979 Larry Coryell & The Brubeck Brothers, “Better Than Live”, Direct Disc 

 

1984 “Tugela Rail”, RPM Records 

 

1985 Allen Kwela “The Unknown” - as producer/arranger, C & G Records 

 

1987 Dave Brubeck “Summer Music; Blue Rondo”, (orchestrator/arranger) Canadian TV Special with L’Orchestre National de Montreal 

 

1987 “Sounds of Shange” (pianist/arranger), taped for Radio LAC Romaine) Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland 

 

1988 The Jazzanians “We Have Waited Too Long”(Producer) -”, Umkhonto Records - Gallo 

 

1989 “The Brothers” (Producer), Roots Records, 

 

1991 “Gathering Forces 1”, B&W Music, UK 

 

1991 The Brubeck/Ntoni Afro Cool Concept “Live in New Orleans”, African Echoes Records 

 

1992 Darius Brubeck And The “Nu Jazz Connection “African Tributes” B&W Music, UK 

 

1993 The Brubeck/Ntoni Afro Cool Concept “Live in New Orleans”, B&W Music, UK 

 

1994 Darius Brubeck & Deepak Ram "Gathering Forces II" BW046 B&W Music, UK 

 

1996 Dave Brubeck With Chris, Dan, Darius & Matthew Brubeck, “In Their Own Sweet 

 

Way”, TELARC20 

 

1997 Darius Brubeck & Afro Cool Concept “Standard Bank Jazz Festival Best Of 97” 

 

LHR008/97 

 

1998 Trios Plus” Vol. 1 Darius Brubeck, producer CJPM/98 

 

2001 Dave Brubeck Live with the LSO : LSO Live 0011 

 

2002 Darius Brubeck & Afro Cool Concept Still on my Mind SSCD 097