SaratogaArtsFest presents encore with Brubeck's Triple Play

They brought the house down when they performed at SaratogaArtsFest this past June, and now they're coming back for an encore. Chris Brubeck and Triple Play will perform in a benefit concert on Saturday, Nov. 5, beginning at 7 p.m. in Skidmore's Arthur Zankel Music Center.

All proceeds from the event will support SaratogaArtsFest, which will present its sixth annual citywide celebration of the arts June 7-10, 2012.

Chris Brubeck, a noted composer and musician who is the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck, formed Triple Play in 1999. In addition to Brubeck, whose specialty is electric bass, bass trombone, piano and vocals, the group consists of Peter Madcat Ruth (harmonica, guitar, jaw harp, percussion and vocals) and Joel Brown (guitar and vocals). Brown is a senior artist-in-residence at Skidmore and chair of the College's Music Department. Triple Play brings a rare level of joy, virtuosity, and American spirit to the folk, blues, jazz, and classical music they perform. 

The Nov. 5 performance will feature a father-son reunion, as the trio is joined by Joel 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 of New York, he continues to teach music as a substitute teacher in that area's public schools.

With an ever-expanding repertoire, Triple Play 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, Seattle Times jazz critic, wrote, "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."

General admission to the concert is $25, or $15 for those with a SartatogaArtsFest 2011 ARSTPASS or ARTSPASS wallet card. There will be a "student rush" beginning at 6:45 p.m. on the day of the event, during which anyone with a student I.D. can purchase a ticket for $5.

Tickets are available on-line at http://www.saratogaartsfest.org/, or in person and by phone at the Arthur Zankel Music Center Box Office, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. The box office phone number is 518-580-5321.

"The first performance was sold out and by all accounts was an amazing experience," said Mary Ellen O'Loughlin, executive director of SaratogaArtsFest. "This concert is an opportunity to surround yourself with the kind of energy that gets hands clapping, feet moving, and hearts soaring - all while supporting SaratogaArtsFest as we strive to bring the arts to everyone."