Darius Brubeck (born June 14, 1947) is an American jazz keyboardist and educator. He is the son of jazz legend

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

. He spent many years in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, as a professor and head of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

Biography

Born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, Brubeck majored in

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

and the

history of religion The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, graduating

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. Brubeck holds an

MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

. "He was awarded a Bellagio Project Residency (

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

) as Composer in 2005 and received 'Outstanding Service to Jazz Education' awards in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2005 and 2006." Darius performed (with all three of his brothers) at the 2009

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

Gala when his father received a medal for his lifetime contribution to American culture. Brubeck currently lives in the south of England in East Sussex.

Early career

While still an undergraduate at

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

, Brubeck worked on "Christopher's Movie Matinee" - a film for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

; he is credited for composing music and performing on the screen. During the 1970s and early '80s, pianist Brubeck led his own groups, played with

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

and toured the world with Two Generations of Brubeck and The New Brubeck Quartet (Dave, Darius, Chris and Dan Brubeck). Several albums were recorded along the way.

Teaching

Brubeck's focus changed to South Africa in 1983, when he initiated the first degree course in Jazz Studies offered by an African university. He taught at the

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...

(UKZN),

, South Africa, and was later appointed Director of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, where he remained until 2006. After leaving full-time teaching, he was made a Senior Research Associate of the School of Music. While based in London, he taught courses at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

and

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

. He has an M.Phil Degree from the University of Nottingham, where he also taught jazz history for a year.

South Africa

For 15 years Darius Brubeck and Afro Cool Concept (a band with South Africa's premier alto saxophonist Barney Rachabane), toured all over southern Africa and overseas. The band's last CD, ''Still On My Mind'', was released in 2003 on

Sheer Sound Sheer Sound is a South African independent record label formed in 1994 by Damon Forbes. History Sheer Sound was formed in November 1994, shortly after South Africa's first democratic elections. The label was initially a home for jazz and world ...

. Other recordings released by Sheer include ''Before It’s Too Late'' (2004) and ''Tugela Rail and Other Tracks'' (2007). International tours included a series of concerts celebrating 10 years of democracy in South Africa. In 2004, together again with his brothers (Chris and Dan), Darius headlined at the National Arts "Joy of Jazz Festival", South Africa, and directed the South African National Youth Jazz Band at the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Beginning in 1988 with "The Jazzanians", the first mixed-race student band from a South African university, Brubeck formed several bands that officially represented his university and South Africa. He was also invited to play and/or give workshops in the UK, Europe,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and at five International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) conferences in the USA. From 1989 until leaving South Africa for London in 2005, he was Director of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.

Composer

Apart from writing for his own bands, Darius Brubeck's arrangements and a composition for Dave Brubeck's 80th birthday can be heard on ''Dave Brubeck – Live with the LSO'' (2000). In 2005, the

awarded Darius a residency as a composer at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In 2004, the

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis. The Orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City. History In 1988 the Orchestra was formed a ...

commissioned a piece by Darius and

Zim Ngqawana Zim Ngqawana (25 December 1959 – 10 May 2011) was a South African flautist and saxophonist. He was later known as Zimology. Biography The youngest of five children, Ngqawana started playing flute at the age of 21, eventually becoming pro ...

, setting music to extracts from speeches by

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

. These were read by

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

at the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

premiere.

Gathering Forces

Gathering Forces (GF) was the name of Darius Brubeck's former fusion band in the 1970s and early 1980s that recorded ''Earthrise''. A later version of GF featuring

Deepak Ram Deepak Ram (born 1960) is a South African born flautist, composer, keyboard player and producer of Indian origin. Deepak is considered a master of bansuri, an Indian flute of ancient origin made from bamboo. He is a senior disciple of world reno ...

bansuri A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as ''nadi'' and ''tunava'' in the ''Ri ...

recorded ''Gathering Forces 2''. Brubeck's CD label, also called Gathering Forces, released ''For Lydia and the Lion'' and ''Earthrise'' in 2008, ''Two and Four'' in 2010 and ''Cathy's Summer'' in 2014, all by the Darius Brubeck Quartet. ''Brubecks Play Brubeck'' was made on tour in 2010 and released the following year.

Current

Brubeck's recent performances since leaving South Africa include appearances at the

Cape Town International Jazz Festival The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cape Town, South Africa. The first one was held in 2000 to 2005 and is recognized as the fourth largest jazz festival in the world and the largest jazz festival on the ...

in 2007 and 2008, the Kennedy Center Honors Gala Concert in 2009, Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2014 and the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

in 2015 which was broadcast by

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, with his current group, The Darius Brubeck Quartet. The Darius Brubeck Quartet is regularly featured at UK festivals, including the

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Marl ...

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

among many others, and appears at such top London jazz clubs as

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

. He also leads "Brubecks Play Brubeck", featuring three Brubeck brothers (Darius, Chris, Dan) plus British saxophonist

Dave O'Higgins Dave O'Higgins (born 1 September 1964) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and latterly recording engineer and producer. Born in Birmingham, O'Higgins first emerged on the British jazz scene in the 1980s. After playing i ...

, which has been touring annually in either the UK or the US since 2010.

John Fordham John Fordham (died 1425) was Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Ely. Fordham was keeper of the privy seal of Prince Richard from 1376 to 1377 and Dean of Wells before being named Lord Privy Seal in June 1377. He held that office until December 1381. ...

"Brubecks Play Brubeck – review"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 30 November 2010. Although intended to be a one-off event, "Brubecks Play Brubeck" toured in the UK again in 2011 and 2013, played at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2012 and Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2014. Darius Brubeck is a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Jazz Studies. He taught at

Yıldız Technical University Yıldız Technical University ( Tr. ''Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi'', often simply referred to as YTU or Yıldız) is a prominent technical university dedicated to engineering and natural sciences as well as social sciences recently, and is one ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 2007 and spent the first term of 2010 at the

Gheorghe Dima Music Academy Gheorghe Dima National Music Academy is an educational institution located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The institution was founded in 1919, and currently comprises various departments including composition, conducting, musicology, musical pedagogy, c ...

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

(

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

). Darius Brubeck has created music for all types of ensemble, large and small, and one of his recent pieces is now included in the Royal School's international Grade V piano syllabus. He is co-author with Michael Rossi of ''Odd Times: Uncommon Etudes in for Uncommon Time Signatures'', published by Advance Music in 2014. On March 23, 2020, it was announced that Darius Brubeck had contracted COVID-19 and was placed in an ICU in London and given a tracheostomy to help with his breathing.

References

External links

Darius Brubeck's website
*Kennedy, Gary W.: "Darius Brubeck"
Grove Music Online
ed. L. Macy (accessed August 31, 2007) *Darius Brubeck online Harmony course
Getting To The Good Stuff Fast on MusicGurus.com
*Darius Brubeck online Jazz Piano course
Mastering Odd Times on MusicGurus.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brubeck, Darius 1947 births 21st-century composers Educators from California American expatriates in Romania American expatriates in South Africa American expatriates in Turkey Living people Jazz musicians from San Francisco University of Natal faculty Wesleyan University alumni Pianists from San Francisco Pupils of Darius Milhaud 21st-century American musicians American expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Nottingham 20th-century American pianists American male pianists American male jazz musicians Dave Brubeck Quartet members