Search - Dave Brubeck Trio, Kevin Deas, Cantor Alberto Mizrahi :: Brubeck - The Gates of Justice (Milken Archive American Jewish Music)

POWERFUL MUSIC AND PERFORMANCES . . .

J. T Waldmann | Carmel, IN, home to the fabulous new Regional Perf | 07/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amazon's editorial review is an excellent introduction to this powerful recording. Additionally, Neil H. Levin states in the liner notes: "Dave Brubeck has always maintained that he wrote . . . THE GATES OF JUSTICE (1969) to bring together - and back together - the Jewish people and American blacks." Brubeck writes, "When I began exploring the music, I was thrilled to hear the similarities among Hebraic chant and spirituals and blues." Therefore, a cantor usually sings the tenor role and an African American the baritone role. And it would be hard to find any singers better suited to these roles than Cantor Alberto Mizrahi and bass baritone Kevin Deas on this recording.Being an alumnus of several excellent choral groups, when listening to a new work I usually ask myself whether or not I would want to sing that particular piece of music. In this case the answer was an immediate "yes, definitely yes!" Not only is this an incredibly exciting piece of music, but one that also cries out for justice and an end to hatred and hostility. Mr. Brubeck writes, "The deeper my involvement in the composition, the more apparent it became that I was no longer thinking in terms of social justice, as evidenced in the histories of Jews and American blacks. Rather, through their unquenchable will to survive and to be free, I had been led inevitably to the more basic problem of man (universal and individual), his relationship to other men, and ultimately to God."GATES OF JUSTICE is not only powerful and exciting, it is also an important political and social statement for our times. One of the eternal religious obligations in Judaism is found in the admonition "Justice, justice you shall pursue"; and a bumper sticker of old reads, "If you want peace, then work for justice." Brubeck writes: "And when men have fulfilled their obligations to each other, they will no longer need to ask: 'Where is justice? Where is God?' It will be self-evident: 'HERE I AM!'"My nomination for a 2004 Grammy. I hope you are as moved by GATES OF JUSTICE as I."

According to Mr. Brubeck...

Joshua Ramirez | Ohio | 12/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1996 or 1997, I was invited to see Mr. Brubeck's performance of 'The Gates of Justice' at Fairfield University in Connecticut. Music has always had the ability to move me deeply. As a musician, I was drawn to musicianship but more importantly, passion in the work.

By no means am I an aficionado of choral music but witnessing that performance on that summer evening changed me. I am also not a religious person, I tend to congratulate man for his accomplishments. Therefore, I decided to write Mr. Brubeck and convey my appreciation for what his performance meant to me. In particular, I noticed that the performance was being recorded by the university and I was interested in obtaining a copy being that his album was out of print. To my surprise, Mr. Brubeck told me that he did not have a copy of that work. According to him, that tumultuous period (the 1960's)produced many works that were either recorded or performed and forgotten about or lost.

So, from time to time I would do a search on Amazon to see if one was available and today, as I was listening to Yes' 'The Gates of Delirium', I thought to give it another try. So here it is!

Listening to the samples on the site I must admit, the live performance grabs the listener much more than the studio takes. To see the choir, the percussionists, the strings and horns, soloists and finally, Mr. Brubecks trio charge out of a crescendo was earth-shattering.

If a live performance does exist, I'd love to own it. If however, this is the best I can find, I'll take it."