South African jazz takes center stage for benefit
Darius Brubeck’s last name might ring a bell. He’s the son of American jazz legend Dave Brubeck, who died in December. Like his father, Darius Brubeck is a jazz pianist. He’ll be in concert Sunday, May 5 at Santa Fe’s Lensic Performing Arts Center.
The concert program will include a couple of Dave Brubeck tunes, American jazz standards, as well as jazz standards from South Africa, where Brubeck spent many years as a musician and as the director of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music.
“So the concert covers a spectrum of jazz. These (tunes from South Africa) are not ones you’d hear on this side (of the Atlantic),” he said in a phone interview.
A few of the South African tunes are by pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, also known as Dollar Brand, and by the late tenor sax player Duke Makasi.
“Makasi was truly a great tenor player but underdocumented. I might also do something by Pat Matchakiza. Patrick is a very talented piano player,” Brubeck said.
On May 11, Brubeck and his musician brothers will perform at a celebration for their father at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Other participants include Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis and Paquito d’Rivera.
Brubeck has been based in London since 2006. He has a quartet there.
“For me, London is the center of the world. It has a great cultural scene, great musicians to work with,” he said.
Joining Brubeck in the Santa Fe concert will be the Santa Fe ensemble Straight Up with drummer John Trentacosta, reed player Arlen Asher and bassist Andy Zadrozny, as well as Santa Fe jazz vocalist Maura Dhu Studi.
Studi and two sidemen, Zadrozny and guitarist Sean McGowan, open the concert, which is a benefit for The Humankind Foundation.
The foundation supports two projects in rural east-central Africa — the African AIDS Education Organization and Kamilika, which is a school for Maasi girls. The school also serves as a sanctuary for them from female genital mutilation and early marriage.