Q&A with Darius Brubeck

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of Darius Brubeck

Darius Brubeck is an American Jazz Pianist, author and educator. He is the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck. He played with his dad many times on stage. He taught for 23 years at The University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. Darius and his wife Catherine and I wrote a book about their time there: “Playing the Changes: Jazz at an African University and on the Road”. A film ‘Playing the Changes: Tracking Darius Brubeck’ is currently on the festival circuit. Screenings are listed on his website. His long-standing group The Darius Brubeck Quartet will perform at the Liverpool International Jazz Festival in February. Go check out Darius and his quartet!

KB: Did you always want to be a musician and why the piano?

I was always a musician, but I didn’t always want to make my living through music. There were many pianos around and look at the role models I had; my father; one uncle, Howard, who was a piano teacher and composer and their mother, Elizabeth, my grandmother, who was a classical pianist.

KB: Your father is the late great Dave Brubeck: What kind of father was he?

Catherine and I are working on an edition of my father’s memoirs ‘as told to’ my mother, Lola. There were very long absences, but he was a devoted family man at home. I saw him as a good-humored, super-capable cowboy who could do anything from riding a horse, to throwing a football to spending evenings in intellectual conversations with the likes of Aldous Huxley or Leonard Bernstein.

KB: Was he supportive of you taking up music?

Of course, but he would have supported anything I wanted to do with my life. He often said so and encouraged me to study everything that interested me.

KB: What is so special about Jazz?

For me, Jazz is the most natural, accessible and yet challenging path to follow as a musician but for a general answer, there are many books that explain this music.

KB: What was it like performing with your dad on stage?

I’ve looked at YouTube concert takes from the 70s very recently and was surprised at how good they were. We knew every gig would be a journey together and ultimately a success because Dave was the leader. He was very open to my using synths and my brother Chris playing electric bass. We were a different kind of band than his usual quartets and I imagine it must have been a relief for him to go back to a normal quartet. But we had a lot of fun and learned a lot touring the world as Two Generations of Brubeck and the New Brubeck Quartet.

KB: You are an educator and taught at universities all over the world. What is your favorite place where you taught and how did you inspire the students to pay attention to you?

South Africa was the most important and favorite place. The University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban is where I taught for 23 years. Students were eager to learn, first for the love of the music itself but also because I could guide them toward the life-long careers they aspired to. My wife Catherine and I wrote a book about our time there: “Playing the Changes: Jazz at an African University and on the Road”, so the long answer to your question is there.

KB: You could make an album with 7 songs with you playing the piano and you can choose the singer: What songs would you pick and who will be the singer?

Ella Fitzgerald is my all-time favorite and I would have let her pick the songs.

KB: What makes a great jazz song? Which elements are a must?

A great jazz song must have a memorable melody and must have a good sequence of chords we call ‘the changes’. The changes must be logical enough to open familiar musical spaces but a little surprise within that logic is necessary or the song is just generic which means no one pays much attention to its original form.

KB: Is there a music genre you would love to dabble in to see how it works out and why this genre?

I don’t know exactly what to call it – maybe Americana – but I like certain folk and country music and would enjoy dabbling in it as a producer-arranger-session player. This admission will surprise anyone who knows me! I guess this comes from being a Dylan fan since I was in high school in the middle of the last century.

KB: Are there currently any musicians out there you would love to collaborate with?

Sure, there are, but too many to mention in a hypothetical context. I sincerely believe my long-standing group, The Darius Brubeck Quartet with Dave O’Higgins, sax, Matt Ridley, bass, and Wesley Gibbens, drums, is now the best setting for my music and the way I play because we’ve gone so many miles together. I also love playing with my brothers, Chris on bass and trombone, and Dan on drums. We don’t get to do this very often but last summer we were featured at the Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland) and at Lake Tahoe in California.

KB: You played at many jazz festivals and jazz venues. Do you have a favorite?

They are all such different experiences, different audiences, etc. but of course, the major London clubs feel like home now and I love outdoor festivals in France as they stage them so well.

KB: What are you currently up to? Anything new in the pipeline?

A film ‘Playing the Changes: Tracking Darius Brubeck’ is currently on the festival circuit. Screenings are listed on my website. I would love for it to go on general release or on a major streaming platform.

My quartet has played at a few festival screenings and there is another appearance at the Liverpool International Jazz Festival in February.

Catherine and I will do a US book promotion tour in April and a few screenings are planned along with our personal appearances. Then, during the summer, touring with my quartet begins. Ultimately, I’m planning to go on the road less and do more writing and composing.

Check out Darius’s website: HERE

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