presented by

THE BRENDAN FITZGERALD QUARTET

Knox Community Arts Centre – Sat 3rd Sept 2016

‘Brendan Fitzgerald Quartet is a very impressive unit. This concert of rhythmically and harmonically complex and difficult music shows just how good this group is.’ (Cabaret Broadway World, June 2013)

‘It is the type of show that gives the audience the best of both worlds, taking us back to a time when music was sophisticated and allowing us to relive the moment in the present.’ (Glam Adelaide, June 2013)

THE SHOW

The show combines the music of the famous jazz quartet of the 1950’s and 60’s with a slide show featuring images from Brubeck’s life and times. Brendan narrates Brubeck’s life story through the eyes of 1940’s and 50’s radio presenter, Jimmy Lyons, who helped launch Dave’s career. The story is presented as a radio broadcast with Brendan also narrating at the piano. Selected Brubeck compositions are played using authentic transcriptions from the quartet’s famous albums. The show title relates to the seminal ‘Take Five’, the highest selling jazz instrumental of all time. It featured on the 1959 album, ‘Time Out’, the first platinum jazz disc, moving more than one million copies. ‘Take Five – The Dave Brubeck Story’, was first staged in the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival. It quickly sold out and received standing ovations, positive reviews and demands to perform it again. The show returned for the 2014 Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival, again selling out all performances.

MUSICIANS

‘Take Five: The Dave Brubeck Story’ is presented by Adelaide’s Brendan Fitzgerald Quartet. Noted alto saxophonist Peter Raidel performs the challenging music of legendary front man Paul Desmond, while Brendan Fitzgerald covers Brubeck’s highly rhythmic and lyrical piano works. Brendan is a classical and jazz composer, pianist and music theatre performer working in Australia, Europe and Asia. The quartet also comprises Quinton Dunne on double bass and Satomi Ohnishi, drum kit. The show was conceived and produced by Brendan, co-written by Doug Mason with dramaturgy and direction by Marco Malerba.

Further information can be found at http://www.brendanfitzgerald.com The website includes mp3 examples of some of the tracks the group recorded for their first CD of Dave Brubeck’s music. Their rendition of the famous ‘Blue Rondo A La Turk’ can also be heard via a link on the main page. The Brendan Fitzgerald Quartet has now recorded a second CD entitled, ‘Time For Brubeck’.

Two reviews of the show can be found at:
Review 1 and Review 2

Bookings online HERE Knox City Council.