Joe Gilman Trio: Time Again: Brubeck Revisted

Idolatry can be a career-changing catalyst-if you choose the right idol. For Dr. Joe Gilman, a Sacramento native, professor of music at American River College and director of the Capital Jazz Project, that choice is an epiphany: Dave Brubeck and his 1959 career-defining recording Time Out, with “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk.”

Fast forward to Gilman’s latest release, Time Again: Brubeck Revisited (Sunnyside). That was the culmination of many events: Gilman playing Brubeck’s music at a Brubeck festival; teaching Dave’s music at the Brubeck Institute; and, inevitably, word getting back to Brubeck himself, who responded by sending Gilman all his published music to share with the students. The next logical step for Gilman: record what he had internalized. With bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown, Gilman is able to bring a more boppish, more incisive approach to Brubeck standards. Not better-just different. Bottom line: Brubeck says he digs the “trio’s imaginative interpretations” on this CD.

Originally Published May 1, 2004