About Darius Brubeck
Darius Brubeck is an American jazz pianist, composer, author, and retired university professor residing in England with his wife, Catherine. Their co-written memoir about their 23 years in South Africa, Playing the Changes, was launched in Durban, South Africa by UKZN Press in May this year. Darius introduced the first university jazz course in Africa and they both ran the internationally famous Centre for Jazz & Popular Music on the Durban campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. A documentary film also titled Playing the Changes but covering related material will be on the festival circuit soon.
In the 70’s and early 80’s, Darius led his own groups, played with Don McLean, Larry Coryell, and was ushered into the international jazz scene as a member of Two Generations of Brubeck and The New Brubeck Quartet (Dave, Darius, Chris, and Dan Brubeck) under his father’s leadership. He moved to South Africa in 1983, where he initiated the first degree course in Jazz Studies offered by an African university and founded the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where, as Professor of Jazz Studies, he taught until 2005. He has also served as a Fulbright visiting professor in Romania and Turkey.
Darius Brubeck and Afro Cool Concept, which featured some of South Africa’s premier musicians, played throughout southern Africa, Europe, and the USA. Brubeck also led groups representing his university and South Africa in Europe, Turkey, Peru, Thailand, and the USA. Using the band name, Gathering Forces for ‘world-music’ concerts, Brubeck has collaborated with virtuoso bansuri player, Deepak Ram.
Darius now leads the London based Darius Brubeck Quartet, which has been together for 15 years and tours internationally. Since 2010 he has also toured with Brubeck’s Play Brubeck, appearing annually at Ronnie Scott’s. Two of his pieces, ‘For Lydia’ and ‘Tugela Rail” were selected by the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music for its jazz syllabus. The quartet’s Live in Poland was on Downbeat magazine’s best of 2020 list.
“Darius, the eldest [of Dave Brubeck’s sons] and most visually like his father, plays stylish piano and knows the score.” Jack Massarik, Evening Standard
Playing the Changes publication
The University of Illinois Press will publish an international edition of Playing the Changes by January ’24. Meanwhile the book is available from the following vendors in South Africa:
Clarkes Bookshop Cape Town
Fogarty’s Bookshop in Port Elizabeth
Ike’s Bookshop in Durban
Made in Durban online store
Exclusive Books (national chain)
Love Books in Johannesburg
Van Schaik stores throughout South Africa have stock for walk-in and order.
Online video lessons
Darius has collaborated with online music lessons website MusicGurus, Mike Rossi, Steinway and Schott publishing to create two innovative new online video lesson titles for pianists, and musicians playing any instrument. Click the images below for more information.
Harmony 101
In this online course recorded at Steinway Hall in London, Darius Brubeck takes you from the most fundamental information to understanding chord progressions, inversions, alterations & voicings.
Mastering odd times
Learn how to play in odd time signatures with Darius Brubeck and his band, featuring Mike Rossi. This course includes sheet music and a specially recorded backing track for “Take 5” for you to use in your own practice.
DARIUS BRUBECK DISCOGRAPHY
DARIUS BRUBECK:
CHAPLIN’S BACK (Gathering Forces)
TUGELA RAIL AND OTHER TRACKS (Sheer Sound)
BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE (Sheer Sound)
THE DARIUS BRUBECK QUARTET:
FOR LYDIA AND THE LION (Gathering Forces)
TWO AND FOUR/TO AND FRO (Gathering Forces)
CATHY’S SUMMER (Gathering Forces)
YEARS AGO (Gathering Forces)
LIVE IN POLAND (Ubuntu Music)
DARIUS BRUBECK AND AFRO COOL CONCEPT
LIVE IN NEW ORLEANS (B & W Music)
STILL ON MY MIND (Sheer Sound)
DARIUS BRUBECK AND DEEPAK RAM
GATHERING FORCES II (B & W Music)
DARIUS AND DAN BRUBECK
GATHERING FORCES 1 (B & W Music)
DARIUS, CHRIS, DAN BRUBECK AND DAVE O’HIGGINS
BRUBECKS PLAY BRUBECK (Gathering Forces)