Chris Brubeck's Triple Play: A Performance and Demonstration

Meet Chris Brubeck, an innovative musician, composer, and the bandleader of the ensemble Triple Play. Known for their high-energy performances and versatile style, this trio features Brubeck (on bass, trombone, piano, and vocals), Joel Brown (on guitar and vocals), and Peter Madcat Ruth (on harmonica, guitar, jaw harp, percussion, and vocals).

Get to know them during this special performance and demonstration that explores America’s music—the blues. Watch and listen as the trio traces the history of this uniquely American musical style and its evolvement over time.

ABOUT CHRIS BRUBECK: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Hailing from a musical family, Chris Brubeck’s professional career began in the 1970s when he began touring and recording with his father, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. Today, he continues to play alongside fellow family members in his other band, The Brubeck Brothers Quartet. n

Brubeck has won countless awards and recognitions for his original compositions, which are performed by orchestras all around the world.

A man of many talents, Brubeck plays the bass, trombone, piano, and guitar. He even sings, too. n

On stage, Brubeck is regarded for his enthusiasm and mastery of numerous musical styles including jazz, blues, folk, funk, rock, pop, and classical. n

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He and fellow bandmember, Peter Madcat Ruth, met in high school and have been performing together for nearly 40 years.

Cuesheet

A PERFORMANCE AND DEMONSTRATION

PERFORMANCE GUIDE

CHRIS BRUBECK’S TRIPLE PLAY

About the Concert Program GOT THEM BLUES: AMERICA’S HISTORY

As black slaves toiled in the fields, they often sang to communicate with each other and pass the time. These work songs, spirituals, and field hollers formed the basis of blues music as it became an important sound of the American South in the early 20th century. In the 1930s, faced with extreme poverty and laws that discriminated against and segregated them, thousands of African Americans migrated to northern cities, taking the blues with them—where both the songs and the singers adapted to their new urban environment.

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE BLUES?

Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of “blue notes”— a note that is sung or played at a lower pitch than the rest of the song that gives the blues its characteristic, often sad sound. The lyrics (or words) usually have a predictable rhyme, and the music often has a repetitive pattern. For example, a lyric is sung over the four first musical bars, repeated over the next four, and ends with a longer line for the last bars.

SPREADING THE JOY

The blues sound was captured by Alan Lomax, who was among the first to record folk songs in the 1930s. Because of Lomax’s recordings, people across the country could hear the unique music of blues artists like Huddie Ledbetter (“Leadbelly”) and Muddy Waters for the first time. In addition to Lomax’s work, the rise of the commercial recording industry (particularly Chess Records) and advances in recording technologies allowed the blues to have a wider distribution and as a result, gain a larger audience.

A LASTING LEGACY

Blues musicians who moved north tailored their music to reflect their new urban surroundings. Acoustic guitars gave way to electric, and drums and standup bass rounded out the sound. This “new” blues had a huge impact on modern music, influencing early rock and roll artists like Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones. Today, the innovative adaptations of the blues can be heard in the music of artists as diverse as Cat Power and Gnarls Barkley.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE BLUES

Here are some musical terms you should know…

Call-and-response the alternation between two musical voices in a song, particularly between an individual person who will “call” out lyrics and a group that will “respond” in unison; this pattern was later modified by blues musicians—instead of waiting for a response, they answered their own calls.

Slide a playing technique in which a musician uses a knife or piece of glass to press down the strings of a guitar.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Deborah F. Rutter President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education Jason Moran Artistic Director for Jazz Jazz Performance/Demonstrations are made possible by Kaplan, Inc.; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org Cuesheets are produced by ArtsEdge, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about education at the Kennedy Center at

www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2015 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Cover photo: © Stephane Colbert

Listen Up! Triple Play members from left to right: Joel Brown, Chris Brubeck, Peter Madcat Ruth

To learn more about blues, jazz, and other musical styles on ArtsEdge http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/kc-connections