November 11: Concert at Ronnie Scott’s
The Darius Brubeck Quartet will play at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Club in Soho, London, on Wednesday 11th November.
Ronnie’s has hosted all the biggest names in jazz for six decades. In November the club will play host to Darius Brubeck and his band as they launch their new album Live Again after a run of sold-out concerts across France, Italy and the UK.
The programme will bring together new material with music from Darius’s South African years and familiar favourites from his father Dave’s repertoire.
Live Again marks the latest chapter for the quartet who are now approaching two decades together.
Report from Buxton Jazz Weekender 2026
Phil Johnson reviews The Darius Brubeck Quartet’s performance Buxton for UK Jazz News. Read the full review which starts with the sets that preceded The DBQ, or read on below.
Johnson writes:
The evening’s third and final show was a triumphant performance by the Darius Brubeck Quartet, playing their familiar repertoire of Dave Brubeck classics and Darius’s own compositions. I have seen and even booked the band many times before, and I stayed for a very enjoyable hour before – apology – ducking out to watch the second half of the football. What sometimes gets lost in assessing the Darius Brubeck legacy, which is sizeable in itself, and the legacy of his father, which is massive, and foundational to modern jazz, is just what an incredible quartet of musicians this has become. There’s a longevity very unusual in any jazz band, with the same personnel for what must be fifteen years or so, since I first saw them perform.
Dave O’Higgins has always been one of the best saxophonists around, and he was masterful tonight, excelling on his essential solos in the Paul Desmond role (adapted for tenor sax), as well as in a featured spot of material from his own new recordings. Matt Ridley on double bass and Wesley Gibbens on drums are no longer the young tyros from of their early years in the band, but their roles have expanded considerably, and there’s now great freedom in what they choose to contribute. As the frontman, Darius Brubeck continues to combine incisive and heavily percussive pianism with charming introductions to each song. At one point he recalled his one previous visit to Buxton in the winter of 2010 when a mid-gig blizzard left both band and meagre Opera House audience stranded for the night in an adjacent hotel.
The group opened with the classic ‘Blue Rondo a la Turk’, followed by the beautiful Dave Brubeck standard ‘In Your Own Sweet Way’. They then progressed through a number of Darius originals including a dedication to his new great-granddaughter, and a lovely Township Jazz-style number composed by the great South African saxophonist Zim Ngqawana, who Darius had taught. There was also what Darius described as “a mash-up” of Stevie Wonder and J.S. Bach, before the Dave O’Higgins solo feature and my anxious exit, which meant I missed ‘Take Five’.
Film date at Provence Arts Festival du Film
Provence Arts Festival du Film will be showing Playing the Changes, the film that charts Darius and Cathy Brubeck’s transformational impact on the South African contemporary music scene as they set up the first jazz degree course in the country at the University of Kwazulu-Natal.
The screening will take place on 1st August at 3pm local time, in the Salle Polyvalente de Ménerbes.
More about Playing the Changes – the film
Thursday, 4th June Menuhin Hall
The Darius Brubeck Quartet will play at the Menuhin Hall in Cobham, Surrey (UK) at 7.30pm.
Friday, 5th June: The Lighthouse, Poole
The DBQ will play at The Lighthouse in Poole, Dorset (UK) starting 7.45pm
Saturday, 6th June: Rhosygilwen, Wales
The DBQ will play at Rhosygilwen in Pembrokeshire, Wales (UK) from 7.30pm
Rhosygilwen, Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire SA43 2TW
Friday, 10th June: St George’s Bristol
The Darius Brubeck Quartet will play St Georges’s Bristol (UK) at 8pm
Great George Street (off Park Street), Bristol, BS1 5RR
“Brubeck, whilst committed to his father’s legacy, is a sophisticated artistic presence in his own right. His quartet bring a deep musical rapport to their material, playing a mix of original compositions and classic standards. Playful, adventurous, refined – a special evening of jazz.”
Pre-event food and drink available.
Saturday, 11th July: Buxton International Festival
The DBQ will appear at Buxton International Jazz Festival as part of the ‘Jazz Weekender’, on 11th July’ late night slot – doors open at 9.30pm.
Venue: Jazz at The Palace (Hotel). Buxton is in the Peak District (UK).
Dave Brubeck tribute concert, Sunday May 17
Sunday Afternoon Jazz in the Ballroom presents a “once in a lifetime” chance to hear the entire Time Out live. The concert will also be live-streamed.
Darius Brubeck will team up with saxophonist Tom Scott and drummer Joe LaBarbera to recreate Dave Brubeck’s band for this exceptional one-off event.
Sunday, May 17, 2.00 – 4.00 PDT in the Centennial Ballroom at Los Angeles Atheletics Club.
Purchase tickets for in-person attendance or live-stream at Jazz Salon.
Let Freedom Swing album release
On Let Freedom Swing, the latest release from Blue Engine Records, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis celebrates the charismatic leaders who gave voice to the struggle for freedom. Originally recorded live during a 2004 concert, the album features six stunning, sprawling musical commissions that paint a backdrop for inspirational oratory on liberty by Václav Havel, Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Desmond Tutu.
Delivering these leaders’ inspirational words are modern icons including Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, Patricia Clarkson, Glenn Close, Keith David, Morgan Freeman, Mario Van Peebles, and Alfre Woodard. The original commissions themselves were composed by a masterful array of jazz composers: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Darin Atwater, Darius Brubeck, Billy Childs, Jimmy Heath, Zim Ngqawana, and Emil Viklicky.
Let Freedom Swing is a stirring statement of purpose on behalf of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s ongoing JazzCall for Freedom campaign, which also includes the JLCO’s recently released record We the People. Both albums encourage listeners to stand up for unity and civil liberties during this crucial moment in our nation’s history. So, answer the call and immerse yourself in Let Freedom Swing, a record that will restore your faith in democracy and remind you of jazz’s power to reanimate our nobler sentiments.