Sometimes jazz musicians need a fresh jolt of inspiration to fire up the muse. For the Laura Dubin Trio, that jolt came in the form of a journey to, and recording session in, arguably the greatest European incubator of music: Vienna, Austria. Beethoven, Mozart and Strauss were just a few of the composers who wrote masterpieces there.
But Dubin and her trio, with Antonio H. Guerrero on drums and Danny Ziemann on bass, are jazz musicians. Did they miss the plane to New Orleans? Actually, those classical titans had some things in common with today’s jazz musicians. Composers like Mozart were known for improvising dazzling cadenzas when performing their piano concertos. So, it’s fitting that Dubin takes off on some fanciful flights — from boogie woogie, through stride, to bebop — on Mozart’s “Rondo alla Turca.”
The above title may cause jazz aficionados to think of Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk,” but that’s different — a Brubeck original inspired by Turkish rhythms. Still, Brubeck’s influence plays a role here. Dubin takes Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” and Strauss’s “The Blue Danube” on wonderfully wild rides in Brubeck-style 5/4 time. And on “Boustrophedon,” she turns an obscure symmetrical writing style (for words) into a similar musical form, a decidedly Brubeckian jazz experiment.
There’s one more classic here: Dubin’s exquisite treatment of “Spring,” a movement from Vivaldi’s most famous work, “The Four Seasons.” (Vivaldi wrote the piece in Italy, but he lived in Vienna at the end of his life.)
Dubin’s originals include the lyrical “Sruthi’s Song,” the tone-poem-like “Thunderstorm” and “Erroll’s Bounce House,” a lively jaunt reminiscent of the great pianist Erroll Garner’s style. Her playing is consistently excellent as she moves effortlessly through various jazz styles. Guerrero and Ziemann are top notch throughout, providing adventurous solos and tasteful underpinnings to Dubin’s excursions.
Ron Netsky is a contributor to CITY. Feedback on this review can be directed to Leah Stacy at leah@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
