By Norm Harris
The Dave Brubeck Quartet were all smiles as they shared their love of jazz.
Brubeck, the indefatigable and consummate master of piano swing at the mature age of 82, with a head of silver hair and a broad smile on his face, brought his quartet to town Saturday to play a show at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay as part of the “Friends of the Arts” festival.
The quartet played two crowd-pleasing and standing-ovation-inspiring sets separated by a brief 30 minute respite. Both sets were characteristically filled with the signature polyrhythmic nuances and fluid polytonalities reminiscent of the day when Brubeck and his original quartet first captivated their fans At Carnegie Hall in 1963.
This weekend they rekindled that spirit, playing tunes from their song book, including the now-legendary signature composition, “Take Five.”
The latest edition of this mature, gray-haired quartet — Bobby Milletilo on alto sax and flute, Michael Moore on acoustic double bass, and Randy Jones on drums — all smiling at each other and having fun, played like they were young cats just discovering their own and collective range, groove and creative possibilities.
Brubeck’s ensemble of seasoned jazz talent worked seamlessly together as they got the mixed-age audience to clap and sway in their seats at times while they brought them fond memories with tunes like, “Don’t Forget Me,” “Blue Rondo a La Turk” and “The Crescent City Stomp.”
Brubeck, the ultimate entertainer, made the crowd feel right at home as he took several quick trips to the mic between set numbers and solos, to talk to the concertgoers and to share with them that his “fingers really hurt” playing the difficult tune, “Blue Rondo a La Turk.”
Brubeck took requests and didn’t forget to inform the crowd that he and his quartet were really going to be working hard this weekend because following these two sets they were performing at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island the next afternoon at 3 p.m.
How do they keep it up? The answer is simple: Brubeck and his elite jazz cats really love what they do as was evidenced throughout the varied and energetic performance. They appeared to feel one another’s rhythms, knew what each other was getting ready to do and constantly bounced and moved with smiles on their faces as each new groove found it mark.
