Of course, Dave Brubeck is best known for his classic quartet with Paul Desmond and the hit “Take Five”. Maybe you didn’t know that before those days, when Brubeck just got out of the army post WWII, he put together a clever little octet. Alto saxist Jon De Lucia puts together an eight piece team of Brandon Lee/tp, Scott Robinson/ts, Becca Patterson/tb, Jay Rattman/cl,-bars, Glenn Zaleski/p, Daniel Duke/b and Keith Balla/dr for a return to those tunes, albeit with some new ideas and harmonies. The results are quite impressive.
DeLucia’s bright and bold alto bops through “ I Hear A Rhapsody” and swings easy on “Love Walked In”, digging in on “Love Me Or Leave Me”. The horns create excellent textures on “What Is This Thing Calle Love” and weave in and around for “Let’s Fall In Love”. Lee is straight ahead and clear for “IPCA” and cool as a cucumber with Rattman on “September In The Rain” while Robinson and the reeds chase around in “Fugue On Bop Themes”. Are these guys going to hit the road with this?