Chris Brubeck's Rickenbacker Comments

I bought my Rickenbacker in 1969 in New York City where all the biggest music stores are located in one block. I wanted to be one of the first rock-n-rollers to play fretless bass guitar. At that time I saw only two fretless instruments, one made by Fender and one by Rickenbacker. The Rickenbacker was my choice because, combined with nylon-coated strings, it had a much warmer sound quality. The bass still serves me well, even if I have evolved from rock to jazz, blues and folk. Thirty years later I still get compliments about how good it sounds and how surprisingly well it fits in a jazz combo setting. The special intangible qualities this instrument possesses have become an inherent extension of my stylistic approach to playing the bass. I have been a loyal Rickenbacker player for three decades and have played it in the best concert halls all over the world.

Chris was the regular bass player in The Dave Brubeck Quartet from about 1976 to 1988, at which point he wanted to stop touring so much to concentrate more on composing. He still plays with his dad several times a year (both bass and trombone), tours with his jazz group, The Brubeck Brothers Quartet (which he co-leads with brother Dan, a killer drummer and includes keyboardist Pete Levin and jazz guitarist Mike Demicco) and his eclectic jazz-funk-blues-folk group, Triple Play, with guitarist Joel Brown and harmonica virtuoso Peter Madcat Ruth. By the way, The Brubeck Brothers Quartet played in Toronto on the CBC last February.

Chris has a new cd out now, "Bach to Brubeck" which he recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and features his arrangements and original composition "Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra". It was just released a couple of weeks ago on Koch International Classics and is getting quite a bit of airplay in particular his Trombone Concerto. Chris plays trombone, piano and, of course, bass on the CD. Yes, his Rick made it to Abbey Road where the CD was recorded!