Choirs Enhance Brubeck Artistry
By GARY E. FRANK
Special to the Courant
It was an occasion to marvel at the virtues of aging and to rejoice at the promise of young talent.
The Dave Brubeck Trio joined with vocalist Dianne Mower and three different choirs in a program titled "Jazz and Voices" Saturday night at the Learning Corridor's CREC Theater of the Performing Arts in Hartford.
"Jazz and Voices" provided a perfect forum for an appreciation of composer-pianist Brubeck's transcendant artistry and its capacity to inspire even performers born just before Brubeck became eligible for Social Security.
At 80, Brubeck remains elegant and ebullient, and one of the most distinctive individual jazz talents of all time. Fronting a trio rounded out with two of his sons, drummer Dan and bassist-trombonist Chris Brubeck, the pianist kicked things off with a jaunty reading of W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues." Brubeck claimed that this version was Handy's original take on the early jazz masterpiece, with an opening movement based on the tango. "Think about that for a moment," mused Brubeck, who then grumbled "purists" in a fashion whose meaning was unmistakable.
The opening set included sparkling renditions of Brubeck's "Yesterdays," "Big, Bad Basie," and his signature tune, Paul Desmond's "Take Five." The trio was also joined by Mower and guitarist Norman Johnson for letter-perfect offerings of selections that included "My One Bad Habit Is Falling in Love," and "I Didn't Know 'Til You Told Me." "I Didn't Know ..." was one of several selections from "The Real Ambassadors," Brubeck's early '60s reflection on social conditions in America. "The Real Ambassadors" is the inspiration for the award-winning jazz choir of the same name (directed by Mower) at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts, who would help enrich the second half of the performance.
The "Jazz and Voices" portion of the show featured the Real Ambassadors, the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts Vocal Choir and the Plainville Choral Society. The Plainville Choral Society gave a sweet and dreamy texture to "Once When I Was Very Young" and the Langston Hughes-inspired "I Dream A World." The ethereal qualities of the choral society's performance seemed to represent the elder Brubeck's orchestral sensibilities.
On the other hand, the Real Ambassadors and the GHAPA choir represented Brubeck's love for the rhythms and harmonic structures of African American music, especially gospel and its secular cousin, the blues. The Real Ambassadors infused "Unsquare Dance" and "They Say I Look Like God" with a soulful energy, and "Three To Get Ready" with just the right amount of whimsy. "Three To Get Ready" was boosted further by a charming exhibition of tap dancing by 16-year old Corey Hutchens.