Center for the Arts to Present An Evening with The Dave Brubeck Quartet

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present An Evening with The Dave Brubeck Quartet at 8 p.m. on March 25 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Dave Brubeck, designated a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, continues to be one of the most active and popular musicians in the world today. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, his experiments with odd time signatures, improvised counterpoint and distinctive harmonies remain hallmarks of a unique musical style unfazed by fad and fashion.

While increasingly active as a composer, Brubeck has remained a leading figure in the jazz mainstream, appearing at jazz festivals, recording, and touring internationally with today's version of the Dave Brubeck Quartet -- Bobby Militello, sax and flute, Randy Jones, drums, and Michael Moore, bass.

Buffalo native Bobby Militello first caught Dave Brubeck's ear at a jazz festival when he stepped out in front of the Maynard Ferguson band to take a "dazzling" flute solo. Dave Brubeck asked Militello to audition for the quartet in 1982 and they have been playing together ever since. Prior to his work with Brubeck, Militello toured with the Maynard Ferguson band from 1975-79. Militello has recorded numerous TV and film scores in Hollywood and has also led and recorded with his own groups.

British born drummer Randy Jones joined the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1978 after having played with such great as Maynard Ferguson, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Milt Jackson, Bill Watrous, Harry James, Cleo Laine, Tony Bennett and Billy Eckstein. He has recorded numerous albums with the Dave Brubeck Quartet on the Telarc, MusicMasters and Concord Jazz labels and has performed with the quartet in the U.S., Japan and Europe. Randy is noted as a versatile drummer, capable of swinging a big band or dynamically weaving intricate patterns in the DBQ's odd time signatures. An avid collector of classical recordings, his solos reflect that interest with an unusually strong sense of melodic form and compositional structure.

The most recent member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, bassist Michael Moore, is an acknowledged master of his instrument, as well as a leader of his own duo and trio, which feature the bass as a solo instrument. Born in Cincinnati, Moore started his musical training at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. After joining the Woody Herman band at age 20, he became an important player in the New York jazz scene, recording and performing with such artists as Marian McPartland, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, John Scofield, Tony Bennett and many others. John S. Wilson of The New York Times called Michael "one of the most consistently brilliant bassists in recent history."

Tickets for The Dave Brubeck Quartet are $35, students $30. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location. Students (of any school) must present valid student ID at the Center Box Office to receive discount.