My first visit to Jazz Cafe Posk in London's Hammersmith coincided with the 60th anniversary of Posk - The Polish Social and Cultural Association - and the first performance in the club by pianist and composer Darius Brubeck.
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| Photo credit @ Hilary Seabrook |
Darius was 10 when he joined his father on a historic tour of Poland. The Dave Brubeck Quartet toured Poland from 6 to 18 March 1958, just three years after the communist regime's ban on jazz was lifted. Without a doubt, this was the biggest jazz event in post-war Poland, with the archetypal and hugely successful outfit of Dave Brubeck (piano), Paul Desmond (alto sax), Eugene Wright (bass) and Joe Morello (drums).
Sixty years later, in 2018, Darius took his own quartet - the same one he brought to Posk in May 2024 - to Poland for a significant tour, recorded and released as the Live in Poland album. Several of the tracks from this album were in the set at Posk and this quartet displayed in depth the benefits of playing together for years - 16 in their case. There was a freedom in the improvisations but the structure of each track was clear and slick in its execution.
When I interviewed Darius for Harmonious World, he was self-deprecating about his skills as a pianist but without justification. He leads this quartet beautifully and together their ensemble playing and individual improvisations are flawless.
Joining Darius Brubeck (piano) was this established and utterly professional quartet of creative musicians: Dave O'Higgins (sax), Matt Ridley (bass) and Wesley Gibbens (drums). They each allowed their instrument to be an extension of them in quite extraordinary ways and each brought collaboration and creativity to their performance. You sense that they always do.
Find out more about the forthcoming book (co-authored with Catherine Brubeck) and film - Playing the Changes.
The 60th anniversary of Posk gave an opportunity for Dr Marek Laskiewicz to speak about the importance of this place. My first visit to Jazz Cafe Posk was a huge success and I will definitely be back in coming weeks. It was an honour to be present for the 60th anniversary of this incredible organisation. The jazz club may be new, but it's entrancing and relaxed, with some of the nicest people behind the scenes as well as on stage.
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