BRENDAN FITZGERALD QUARTET recreates the world of iconic jazz musician Dave Brubeck, his genius, his relationships, humanity and acclaim.

In 1959, Dave Brubeck Quartet’s album, “Time Out” became the first platinum jazz recording. Their composition “Take Five”, remains the highest selling jazz instrumental of all time. Together with “Blue Rondo a la Turk”, these works are identified as seminal and revolutionary expressions of a new era in music.

Brendan channels Jimmy Lyons, a 1940’s-50’s jazz radio presenter who helped launch Dave’s career, narrating the story at the piano with a projected montage of images and clips from Brubeck’s life. Contemporary VJ technologies subtly blend live performance footage of the musicians with this visual sequence.

This ensemble comprises outstanding musicians who have performed widely in Australia, Europe and Asia. Alto saxophonist Peter Raidel, plays the elegant music of Paul Desmond, Brubeck’s creative ally and sometime adversary. Satomi Ohnishi (Japan), drums and Quinton Dunne, double bass, also feature in the Brendan Fitzgerald Quartet for this unique music event.

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

Venue Format
Theatre, Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
D
Touring Party
Five (four musicians and one technician)
Considerations

A good quality grand piano is required in the venue plus preferably access to a bass amplifier. A projection screen for the multimedia elements of the show. Four hour bump-in preferred.

eMotion Music is an Australian production house for creative music initiatives.

Engaging diverse talent, eMotion Music ignites entertainment and performance projects for all occasions and media. Our concerts, recitals, music-theatre and cabaret productions tour throughout Australia, Europe and the Asia Pacific. In addition to live shows, eMotion Music customises original music scores and recordings for commercial use in film, video, radio and the web.

eMotion Music specialises in productions which combine narrative and contemporary visual technologies to support high level music performances across a range of styles. Conventional concert presentations are reinvented via a multi-layered process, delivering a scintillating musical experience for the audience.

Formed by pianist/composer and music producer, Brendan Fitzgerald, eMotion Music combines the creative energies of a group of South Australian artists and musicians. Music composition and arrangement, creative VJ technology applications and audio recording are included in a suite of services offered by eMotion Music.

Company Website
emotionmusic.com

Unique Selling Point

  1. A concert recreating musical works that had a massive impact on the cool jazz and popular scene of the 50's and 60's, pre-rock era.
  2. It's work as pieces of narrative theatre, relating the life-story of Dave Brubeck and his life and times, particularly in post-WWII USA.
  3. Incorporation of multimedia elements featuring archival images to support Brubeck's story.
  4. The optional merging of live vision of the performers into the archival images using VJ technology.

Marketing Materials

  1. Two CDs of music from the show
  2. Video show reel
  3. Two websites with information regarding the production
  4. Photographs from previous productions
  5. Review statements
  6. Testimonials

Community Engagement

TAKE FIVE - The Dave Brubeck Story is a production that has received wide acclaim from audiences, particularly the older generation who have commented on how they felt transported back to a time in their youth, not only by experiencing this music being authentically recreated, but also by the visual elements of the production. For example, TAKE FIVE was performed in Deniliquin, regional NSW in 2015 to people who travelled long distances to catch the show. From that point of view, it generated opportunities for these people to meet and revisit their youth, recalling a time when life was less complex.