Jazz Fest 2014, Day 3: Frank reviews Brubeck Brothers Quartet and Rachel Brooke Band

Sunday evening
and the crowds were a little lighter and not as frenzied, frazzled, and frantic
as the night before. What’s cool for this festival is how much Brubeck it has
exposed us to over the years. Whether it’s been the Sisters Euclid, tonight’s
appearance by the Brubeck Brothers, or the man himself (who insisted on an
elbow bump in lieu of a handshake when I met him years ago backstage),
Rochester has been substantially Brubecked, Brubeckerized, Brubeckified, and
hipped to the ‘Beck.

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet — featuring
Dan Brubeck on drums and Chris Brubeck on slide trombone and bass — were
precise and swingin’ right out of the gate, with a
lilting grace that played off the early evening sun streaming through the Harro East Ballroom windows. It stayed aloft even when they
coped to a most-excellent mambo in 9/8 time. Dad would have been proud.
Highlights permeated the band’s whole set, especially its take on “Blue Rondo a
La Turk,” which escalated into bluesy forays in another signature to keep the
ears happy and the feet guessing. There are just some shows that make you feel
privileged to be there.

And it was a privilege
to catch the rather dark Detroit darling, Rachel Brooke and her band on the Abilene stage for the
early set. I’ve been spinning her new CD “A Killer’s Dream” for the last two
weeks now and the thick and loose twang, loping rhythm, as well as a few
similarities — style wise, mostly — to Neko Case had
me twitterpated in anticipation. Live, the band was a
little more ragged and raw with Brooke’s vocal innocence going head to head
with the lanky guitar player’s Harmony Rocket. It set the honky-tonk scene;
sawdust floors and rednecks clinging to longnecks. Hey, you wanna
dance?

Tomorrow night
after celebrating seven years of wedded bliss to my lovely wife, Deborah, I’ll
be screaming like a 9-year old girl watching Don Mancuso & DDrive on the Squeezers stage plus many, many
more. We’ll be back right after this…

This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2014.