Dave Brubeck was the first jazz musician to appear on the cover of Time magazine. His most famous piece, “Take Five,” is still the most recognizable jazz song ever recorded. He was one of, if not the, most important innovators of the cool jazz style. The man is a legend. And on Saturday night he performed with his quartet at a concert celebrating the inauguration of John J. DeGioia. To have this man play for Georgetown is not only an honor for the school but says a great deal for the growing music program and its new director, Jos? Bowen.
There can be no doubt that the school paid a hefty sum for the performance, but bringing together the night took more than just cash?it largely relied on the prominence and organization of Professor Bowen. He’s played with everyone from Liberace to Dizzy Gillespie (not to mention Dave Brubeck), been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and, like Brubeck, has had significant experience in blending jazz with other forms of music. Basically, the man is not a lightweight?so it’s no surprise that, under his direction, this concert was going to be a major event. Dave Brubeck’s performance alone would be enough to qualify it as “major,” but on top of that, more than 300 students from four campus music groups participated. Too large for Gaston Hall, the event was held at D.A.R. Constitution Hall on a stage that dwarfs anything at Georgetown, with a lighting and sound system that GPB could only dream about.
The Georgetown Jazz Band opened the show with a big band piece to warm up the still-tipsy crowd, just shuttled over from a reception at the Reagan Building. The Jazz Choir followed the band, offering a song with lyrics by Langston Hughes and establishing the general theme of the night as tolerance, justice and, ultimately, Christian values. The next piece, written by Bowen, brought the together the Jazz Band, a campus group that has existed for more than 15 years, and the Jazz Choir, which was performing for the first time. Although the both groups were more than capable, it seemed as if they hadn’t had much rehearsal time together. The incredible and soulful solo by Cherise Williams (COL ‘02) was somewhat drowned out, but the song’s gospel hard-bop edge still brought energy to a crowd eagerly awaiting the main event.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet walked on stage to an incredibly appreciative audience of 50-somethings, who, at the very least, knew enough about the man to keep a healthy buzz up about a possible performance of “Take Five.” But that wouldn’t come until later. First, the quartet, consisting of an aged Dave Brubeck on piano and more recent additions (by recent, I mean post-70s) Bobby Militello, Randy Jones and Michael Morre on sax, drums and bass respectively, played a few pieces typical of the Cool Jazz style Brubeck is so renowned for. It was an experience to say the least. Hearing Brubeck’s master compositions and skillful piano comping on CD recordings is well worth $15, but a live concert shows a whole other side. The group doesn’t have anything close to a loud, over-powering sound. Possibly due in part to the significant age of all four members, their performance lacked the staggering energy that characterizes many live performances, including a lot of jazz shows. But their delicacy only makes what they play that much more remarkable. The four men on stage clearly had enough skill to run circles around virtually any pop artist on the scene, but the subtlety of their performance and the understatement of their style are what really set them apart.
Their selection varied between more typical upbeat pieces and a slower love song Brubeck wrote for his wife and even included a track from the Quartet’s new CD, The Crossing.At times, some lesser jazz fans might have been compelled to label the music elevator-ish, but the solid beats, relatively catchy melodies, skillful accompaniments and amazing solos testified to the group’s complete mastery of jazz and the cool style?even after all these years.
And then, to the delight of the elderly couple beside me, Brubeck played “Take Five.” The group seemed to rush into it, possibly because of the audience’s over-anticipation. Bobby Militello plunged into the solo traditionally played by the late Paul Desmond with an accuracy that mirrored most of Desmond’s original notes. Although Militello’s playing seemed to lack some of the depth from the original recording, he seemed to find his own notes later on, revealing a very impressive solo. Randy Jones’ drum solo was equally impressive, as was the irresistibly magnetic beat that Brubeck and Moore maintained throughout the piece. In short, it was awesome.
The Quartet finished up their portion of the night with “Boogie 1 AM”, another piece with text by Langston Hughes, recalling the connection between both artists as men with what Bowen called “a sense of social justice.” After intermission, a sobered audience returned to their seats for three very different pieces. The Jazz Band and Choir had been replaced by the University Orchestra and Concert Choir, two more practiced, much larger and more traditional groups. Performing mostly on their own, but with occassional accompaniment from the Quartet, the two groups performed three pieces written by Brubeck, who has had significant experience composing all forms of music, including orchestral symphonies. The section seemed to allow Bowen to bring in a unique combination of classical, jazz and religious music, a distinct format that the innaguration of a non-Jesuit president to a Catholic university proabably called for. From the beginning, Bowen had to fight in order to bring together in one night not only all these forms of music but all the different groups that perform them. The audience was visibly less intrigued by this final portion as some of the few students who did attend left and Brubeck’s quartet grew noticably drowsy. But the attempt to create a unique and interesting concert that really took advantage of Brubeck’s abilities and diverse campus interests was a success.
The major drawback to the night was the fact that there were more Georgetown students on stage than there were in the audience. As the DAR Constitutional Hall had more than enough extra room, this concert provided an opportunity that probably should have been further publicized on campus and more openly offered to the students of this university. But for those who did attend, it was easily worth the free ticket and ride downtown.
