Jon De Lucia - The Brubeck Octet Project EPK

If this is any indicator of post-pandemic jazz—with some luck—it bodes well indeed for the music and its listeners.
Richard salvucci, all about jazz

The Brubeck Octet Project is Jon De Lucia’s latest release on Musaeum Clausum Recordings, tackling the repertoire of the Dave Brubeck Octet, a collective led by Brubeck in the late 1940s. These idiosyncratic charts have been brought back to life by an extensive amount of research of the original parts and lone recording by De Lucia as part of his PhD studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. In partnership with the Brubeck Living Legacy, and the Brubeck Archive, funded by the PSC CUNY Enhanced Faculty Grant, the Octet recorded 12 tunes with an all star band.

The band features saxophonist Scott Robinson, known for his work with Maria Schneider, as well as Brandon Lee, trumpeter with the Village Vanguard and Birdland Big Bands, along with Jay Rattman, Becca Patterson, Glenn Zaleski, Daniel Duke and Keith Balla.

An excerpt from the original parts written mostly by tenorist Dave Van Kriedt

The music predates much of the Birth of the Cool material and is pushing many of the same boundaries, only on the West Coast. De Lucia has expanded the arrangements to make more room for the amazing soloists on the record.

Stream entire album

jondelucia · Jon De Lucia – The Brubeck Octet Project

Videos

Treaser Trailer from Studio Session

I Hear a Rhapsody Live Video

Let’s Fall In Love Live Video

Download wav and mp3 files on dropbox

Dropbox for the Brubeck Octet Project

release info

Release Date: July 12, 2024
Label: Musaeum Clausum Recordings MC003
Formats: CD, Vinyl (Translucent Red), All Streaming Platforms
Run Time: 49 Minutes (39″ for vinyl, with option to download additional 2 songs)
Credits:

Curtain Music (Brubeck) 0:38
Love Walked In (Gershwin) 4:18
Fugue on Bop Themes (Van Kriedt) 4:05
Let’s Fall In Love (Arlen-Koehler) 4:30
IPCA (Smith) 5:59
September in the Rain (Warren-Dubin) 6:21
I Hear A Rhapsody (Fragos-Baker-Gasparre) 5:18
The Way You Look Tonight (Kern) 2:57
Prelude (Van Kriedt) 4:39
What Is This Thing Called Love? (Porter) 4:12
Love Me or Leave Me (Donaldson-Kahn) 5:55
Closing Theme (Brubeck) 0:37

Arrangements by Dave Van Kriedt (2,3,4,6,7,9,11), Bill Smith (5,10) , and Dave Brubeck (1,8,12), with additional arranging by Jon De Lucia.

Jon De Lucia – Alto Saxophone, Brandon Lee – Trumpet, Scott Robinson – Tenor Saxophone, Becca Patterson – Trombone, Jay Rattman – Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone, Glenn Zaleski – Piano, Daniel Duke – Bass, Keith Balla – Drums

Recorded December 11 and 12, 2023 at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn NY. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Michael Perez-Cisneros with Kevin Thomas. Cover Image and Packaging Design by Kevin Willingham.