When CHRIS BRUBECK, PETER MADCAT RUTH and JOEL BROWN perform together, it's always an event to remember! This dynamic ensemble programs everything from jazz, to folk, to blues and classics. Whether performing with orchestras, or captivating students at universities across the United States, no concert ends without high praise and a standing ovation.

CHRIS BRUBECK first distinguished himself as a jazz musician performing and recording with his father, the legendary Dave Brubeck. Chris plays bass, trombone, piano, guitar and sings, and in the past few decades has earned international acclaim as composer, performer and leader of his own groups. On stage, Chris' irrepressible enthusiasm is matched by his fluid command of jazz, blues, folk, funk, pop and classical musical styles. As an award-  winning composer, he is clearly tuned into the pulse of contemporary music. Now, as we enter the 21st century, Chris' natural talents have positioned him to assume a prominent role in the genre‑bending renaissance of modern classical music. Noted Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart says, "without putting too much of an onus on Chris Brubeck, we're always looking for the new Gershwins who can take the sounds in American popular musical culture and integrate them into the context of the orchestra, much the way Gershwin and Bernstein did."

Over the last decade Chris has created an impressive body of symphonic work while maintaining a demanding touring and recording schedule with his two bands, the Brubeck Brothers Quartet and Triple Play. Highlights of his recent compositional achievements include Convergence: Concerto for Orchestra, commissioned and performed by the illustrious Boston Pops to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Boston's Symphony Hall, and his second Boston commission, the exciting Interplay for 3 Violins and Orchestra, performed by violinists Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (classical), Eileen Ivers (Irish) and Regina Carter (jazz). The concert was broadcast on PBS Evening at Pops, which won Chris the 2002 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for best composition for television broadcast

Chris has also recorded his original music and toured the world with his own rock, jazz and folk groups. He currently performs and records with his group, Triple Play, an acoustic blues/jazz/folk trio, with vocals that includes guitarist Joel Brown and harmonica virtuoso Peter Madcat Ruth. Chris and Madcat have been playing together since their rock'n roll days together in the band, Sky King. Chris and Joel have been playing together for about 12 years, dating back to their days of touring with Bill Crofut. Triple Play's newest CD is Watching the World. All Music Guide gave this CD 4-1/2 stars (out of 5) and said, "it's great to hear a group that combines top-notch musicianship, potent originals and a touch of humor." The group's first CD, Triple Play Live, revealed jaw-dropping chops and a fun-loving grasp of all styles of American music.

In addition, Chris has joined such diverse artists as B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Gerry Mulligan, Dawn Upshaw, Bela Fleck, Muddy Waters, Bobby McFerrin, Stephane Grappelli and Bob Dylan onstage and has been featured on dozens of recordings. He has written three musicals and hundreds of songs, including covers sung by R&B legends, Bobby Womack and Patti Labelle.

When touring, Triple Play earns rave reviews for its unique rendition of jazz, blues and folk tunes. Chris has been guest artist at numerous concerts, including the prestigious Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Barbican in London and the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island.

PETER MADCAT RUTH has established an international reputation through his exhilarating, riveting virtuosity on the harmonica. His expertise on this instrument has amazed audiences world‑wide. He is equally at home playing blues, folk music, jazz, country or rock and roll. Performance Magazine refers to him as "A harmonica virtuoso who is rapidly approaching legend status."

Madcat's music has been evolving for nearly 40 years, starting in Chicago with playing folk/blues on guitar and studying harmonica with Big Walter Horton. He later moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he was a key presence in two of the city's finest progressive rock bands: New Heavenly Blue and Sky King. By the mid 1970's, Madcat was touring the world with jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. Madcat later went solo, infusing the folk/blues tradition with elements of rock and jazz. In 1990, Madcat teamed up with guitarist/singer Shari Kane to form the duo Madcat & Kane.

Madcat has been an invited guest performer at many harmonica festivals in the United States and Europe. His harmonica playing is heard on over 50 recordings. National television and radio appearances, symphony orchestra performances, radio and television advertisements and harmonica workshops all attest to Madcat's reputation as one of the best and most versatile harmonica players in the world.

JOEL BROWN, guitarist. Joel's  eclectic career has taken him to England for a recording with the London Symphony, to Carnegie Hall with soprano Dawn Upshaw, recitals and recordings with Frederica von Stade and extensive touring and recording with Chris Brubeck's cross-over trio, Triple Play. He has appeared at New York's Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, at the Tanglewood Festival, the Chamber Music Festival at Saratoga, Music in the Mountains in British Columbia, the Barbican Centre in London and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In addition to touring and recording with Triple Play, Joel has appeared as concerto soloist with the  Martinu Chamber Orchestra in the U.S. and in the Czech Republic, the St. Cecilia Orchestra, as well as many other orchestras across the U.S.  He is founding member of Tritonis,  who 's CD, Five Premiers: Chamber Music with Guitar contains five new pieces that Brown commissioned. Tritonis has been featured at the Guitar Foundation of America Festival in Miami The National Flute Association Convention in both New York and Boston, the Caramoor Festival, the Ithaca College Guitar Festival, the Juilliard School the Cleveland Institute of Music as well as many other venues across the country. Joel has helped create the highly regarded CD Chords and Thyme with guitarist Edward Flower on the Dorian label that Guitar Player Magazine called "...beautiful and imaginative."

Joel worked with Bill Crofut and Chris Brubeck for nearly a decade and was an integral part of their recordings, Lullabies and dances; Unsquare Dance; Red,White and Blues; and Bartok and Kodaly, all on Albany Records.  Joel is also the featured guitarist on a recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, Bach to Brubeck on Koch International Classics with bill Crofut and Chris Brubeck. This CD includes the world premiere of a Bach lute prelude transformed into a miniature guitar concerto by Chris with Joel as soloist. Guitar Review said of this performance "Brown's robust tone and lyrical phrasing balances beautifully with the orchestra, delivering a performance that is exquisite and memorable." Joel is also featured with Frederica von Stade on Across Your Dreams with the Empire Brass on King's Court and Celtic Fair; and Bill Crofut's final recording, Dance on a Moonbeam, all on Telarc Records.

His newest CD, Christmas Cedar and Spruce was released on Albany Records 2007 and features Chris and Peter Madcat Ruth as well as members of Joel's family. A recent Public Radio East review says "Joel Brown and his unassuming disc, Christmas Cedar and Spruce, grabbed my attention so thoroughly that it's the only one I can imagine writing about. Brown and his friends have cooked up a nearly perfect program for the holiday season." Joel is Senior-Artist-in-Residence at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.