SaratogaArtsFest: Brubecks to perform on campus June 10

Jazz legend Dave Brubeck is coming to town Friday, June 10, to perform at SaratogaArtsFest as a special guest of Triple Play, a trio led by his son Chris Brubeck. The performance will take place 8:15-10 p.m. at Skidmore's Arthur Zankel Music Center. 

The repertoire for the performance will include a number of Dave Brubeck classics as well as original pieces by Chris Brubeck and other members of his group.Triple Play consists of three outstanding and versatile musicians: Chris Brubeck (electric bass, bass trombone, piano and vocals), Peter Madcat Ruth (harmonica, guitar, jaw harp, percussion and vocals), and Joel Brown (guitar and vocals). Brown is a longtime senior artist-in-residence at Skidmore and is currently chair of the college's Music Department. 

The performance will feature a second father-son reunion as the trio is joined by Brown's father, jazz clarinetist Frank Brown. The elder Brown, a former member of the local group Reggie's Red Hot Feet Warmers, has played on Triple Play CDs and has performed with the group at locations around the country. Now 85 years old and a resident of the Finger Lakes region, he continues to teach music as a substitute teacher in that area's public schools.

Triple Play brings a rare level of joy, virtuosity, and American spirit to the folk, blues, jazz, and classical music they perform. With an ever-expanding repertoire, the group continues to perform in concert halls, clubs, and festivals around the country, including performances of many of Chris Brubeck's symphonic arrangements with orchestras across the United States. In 2006, the trio played a set at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and later that evening the group was featured in the premiere of Dave Brubeck's "Cannery Row Suite."

Paul deBarros, writer for the Seattle Times and Downbeat, commented: "Triple Play is what jazz always was and always should be about: good-time rhythm, unbridled joy and the sweet release but bittersweet aftertaste of the blues. If there's a better old-time blues and jazz harmonica player out there than Madcat Ruth, I'd sure love to know where he lives."

Admission to the concert is $5 for those with a SaratogaArtsFest ARTSPASS or Festival Pass, and $45 for others. Tickets are available at the SaratogaArtsFest Center and Gallery, 516 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, 518-580-8010. A ticket is required to confirm a seat.

The Triple Play concert is among a wide range of events presented by SaratogaArtsFest 2011, scheduled for June 9-12. The citywide celebration will once again offer programs spanning music, dance, visual art, film, theatre, and literary art at venues throughout Saratoga Springs.

The full festival schedule and program details are available at www.SaratogaArtsFest.org.