Churches built in in the late 19th century were not generally designed to double as concert halls. And the seating was first come first serve, in the balcony, so it’s a good thing Steven and I got there when we did; thanks to a support pillar Steven could see Dave Brubeck’s ear and I could see Dave Brubeck’s head and torso. We did a lot of craning and leaning over during the show. But it didn’t really matter. The acoustics were pretty nice.
There was an intro from someone at the church and then Dave came out, looking slightly hunched over but his face was radiant. He smiled a lot during the evening. This was his fourth performance at the Fourth Presbyterian Church (not counting a wedding the Quartet performed at in the sanctuary). Clearly there were a lot of fond memories.
The music consisted of various sacred pieces that Dave has written over the years, and the Quartet was joined by the church choir and brass ensemble. The usual structure consisted of an instrumental introduction, recitation of a sacred text by the choir, then a full-on jazz interlude with the Quartet, with a short coda to follow. The writing and arrangement of the choral/brass parts was pleasant, but really it was the work by the Quartet that got things going. Dave would sit almost motionless at the piano, putting all his energy directly into his hands until it came time for a solo. Then his shoulders would jump and a smile would pop onto his face. Whenever another member of the group would solo he’d rock back and forth in his chair, and even shout some encouragement from time to time (especially during Michael Moore’s bass solo).
It was the picture of a man of 84, weighted by age but unwilling to give in. His music certainly hasn’t gotten conservative with age. During his solos he’d unfurl long cascades of notes in chunky clusters, never stopping for breath. Lots of angular motifs of great power. There were the occasional missteps and fudged notes but it didn’t really matter. The force was still there. His wife Iola was in the audience and was introduced; she stood up and everyone applauded wildly. A vivacious lady. They have been together for 63 years.
The two best pieces were “Forty Days,” with some nice understated introspection in the piano lines, and “New Wine,” with blistering flute solo by Bobby Millitello and a bluish Middle Eastern feel that reminded me of something from Ellington’s “Far East Suite.”
Between each piece was an introduction of sorts from the church conductor, Russell Gloyd. When the last work on the program was over and after the second standing ovation he said, “We have one final sacred piece for you. The origin of this piece dates back to 1959 [wild cheers] and the text … well, we don’t need to say anything about the text except that it includes ‘five’ …”
Then they launched into “Take Five” of course, and the familiar vamp was there but somewhere along the way after the melody was introduced Dave took the music on a wild detour and completely changed keys. Then Randy Jones had a drum solo that went on for at least three minutes and was completely astonishing; the acoustics in the sanctuary made him sound like an entire drum corps. They segued into a reprise of the program’s last piece, “God’s Love Made Visible,” and there was another standing ovation. Dave stood up, grinning ear to ear, and waved before stepping into the foyer.
It’s an evening I won’t forget.
