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I first became aware of Chris, Dan, and Darius Brubeck in 1978. I had turned on the television to watch whatever was on PBS and found a documentary on the making of the “Two Generations of Brubeck” recording. The program included music and profiles of the above-mentioned brothers and their father Dave. THAT Dave. The next day I drove to one of the local record stores and purchased a copy of the Brubeck record. It has been a treasured part of my collection from the first time the needle hit the vinyl and the opening notes of “Circadian Dysrhythmia” blasted from the stereo’s speakers.

Fast forward to the winter of 2006 and some late-night channelsurfing, stopping at the music program “Sierra CenterStage” on a PBS channel. The onstage announcer was introducing a band called the Brubeck Brothers Quartet. The music began. The first thing I noticed was how Dan Brubeck made the same faces while drumming that he made when I saw him on TV in 1978. The second thing I noticed was how these two brothers, the other being Chris on electric bass (Darius leads his own band and is not a member of this quartet), seemed to be using the same brain for thinking. I was watching one of the better rhythm sections in any musical genre guide a guitarist and pianist through a set of swinging mainstream jazz and realizing I had another trip to another record store in my future.

The song the quartet was playing was titled “West of One” and is the opening piece on the Brubeck Brothers Quartet’s 2006 release “Intuition.” The brothers are joined on it by Mike DeMicco on electric guitar and Taylor Eigsti on acoustic piano, as well as Pete Levin on organ for three of the CD’s nine songs.

The CD’s music ranges from post-bop to Latin to ballads to, of course, the Dave Brubeck penchant for non-4/4 time signatures (according to the CD booklet, “Sahara Moon” is a song in 11/4 and “Change Up” is in 7/8). All compositions were written by Chris Brubeck except “West of One” and “Open Door,” both by DeMicco.

The twenty-one-year-old Eigsti’s playing finds new ways to explore familiar musical ground, at various times recalling Thelonius Monk’s stop-and-go phrasing, at others Bill Evans’ chord voicings, but never resembling Dave or Darius Brubeck. Some of DeMicco’s solos contain the chording style identified with Wes Montgomery; his overall presence on this CD, however, reminded me of the approach by a young John Scofield on his 1978 (there’s that year again) Enja recording “Rough House,” with its just-distorted-enough-so-you’d-notice sonic chromaticism. Levin’s organ style displays familiarity in both the work of Jimmy Smith and the feel of a Sunday service where the preaching revs up the music and vice versa, key ingredients in his contributions on “Parade du Funk,” “Bullwinkle’s Revenge,” and “Easy For You To Pray.”

Regarding the brothers, Chris’s playing is remarkably lyrical and melodic, sounding at times like the late Blue Note Records guitarist Grant Green’s style transposed for bass clef. His basslines explore, pulse, and serve as true north in all of the CD’s music. He also contributes some outstanding bass trombone solos throughout the recording. Dan continues to be one of the finest drummers in the world. He has a great command of fundamental and advanced techniques, dynamics, and how to best use the different sounds in his drum kit to color and push the music, from whipcracking snares to whispering cymbals.

“Intuition” is an excellent CD, already getting plenty of playing time in my house, and making me wonder what sort of Brubeck music I am going to find on PBS in thirty years from now. Maybe “Three Generations of Brubeck”?

To order “[tag]Intuition[/tag]” and for additionalinformation, visit www.BrubeckMusic.com.

[tags]cd review[/tags]