The darius Brubeck Quartet: For Lydia and the Lion (UBU0052)

Darius Brubeck is an American jazz pianist, composer, author, and retired university professor residing in England with his wife, Catherine. Their co-written memoir about their 23 years in South Africa, Playing the Changes, was launched in Durban, South Africa by UKZN Press in May this year. Darius introduced the first university jazz course in Africa and they both ran the internationally famous Centre for Jazz & Popular Music on the Durban campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. A documentary film also titled Playing the Changes but covering related material will be on the festival circuit soon.

In the 70’s and early 80’s, Darius led his own groups, played with Don McLean, Larry Coryell, and was ushered into the interna­tional jazz scene as a member of Two Generations of Brubeck and The New Brubeck Quartet (Dave, Darius, Chris, and Dan Brubeck) under his father’s leadership. He moved to South Africa in 1983, where he initiated the first degree course in Jazz Studies offered by an African university and founded the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where, as Professor of Jazz Studies, he taught until 2005. He has also served as a Fulbright visiting professor in Romania and Turkey.

Darius Brubeck and Afro Cool Concept, which featured some of South Africa’s premier musicians, played throughout southern Africa, Europe, and the USA. Brubeck also led groups representing his university and South Africa in Europe, Turkey, Peru, Thailand, and the USA. Us­ing the band name, Gathering Forces for ‘world-music’ concerts, Brubeck has collaborated with virtuoso bansuri player, Deepak Ram.

Darius now leads the London based Darius Brubeck Quartet, which has been together for 15 years and tours internationally. Since 2010 he has also toured with Brubeck’s Play Brubeck, appearing annually at Ronnie Scott’s. Two of his pieces, ‘For Lydia’ and ‘Tugela Rail” were selected by the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music for its jazz syllabus. The quartet’s Live in Poland was on Downbeat magazine’s best of 2020 list.

“Darius, the eldest [of Dave Brubeck’s sons] and most visually like his father, plays stylish piano and knows the score.” Jack Massarik, Evening Standard