I will try to make up for the recent lack of activity on the blog by putting together series of brief reviews/impressions of albums that share something in common. The first round will see paired together two orchestras, a musical entity of many diverse historical backgrounds - as one could think of jazz big band as an expansion of combo band as well as genre-transgression of classical symphony group. And this bi-polarity is well exemplified by the pair of the orchestras about which below and in the next post.
The Aadvark Jazz Orchestra
Evocations
Mark S. Harvey - music director, conductor, trumpet, piano
Saxophones & woodwinds: Arni Cheatham (as, ts, fl), Peter Bloom (as, fl, picc), Phill Scarff (ts, ss, cl), Chris Rakowski (ts, cl), Dan Zuban (bs, cl, bs cl), Will Swank (ts); Trumpets: K.C. Dunbar, Jeanne Snodgrass, Eric Dahlman; Trombones: Bob Pilkington, Jay Keyser, Jeff Marsanskis, Russel Jewell, Ethan Fenn; Bass Trombone/Tube : Bill Lowe
Guitar : Richard Nelson; Double Bass : John Funkhouser / Victor Belanger /Rick McLaughlin; Electric Bass : Jerry Edwards; Drums : Harry Wellott; Percussion : Craig Ellis; Theremin : Brian Robison
Leo Records 2012
I'd like to think that Jazz Orchestra is somewhat of a balancing act. You have a massive sound at your disposal, a ton of colours and shades, yet you have to make a wise use of those, as it's so easy to loose the power of singular vision, personal statement, within all the mass. And I think that set of tunes composed for the band by Mark S. Harvey does just that.
The cd starts with "March of the Booboisie", with its steady rhythm and quirky, whimsical dissonance of the various horn sections and somewhat comical trombone - trumpet duet, yet at certain point it breakes into the heroic line of and ends with eerie, mournfull, reflective chords.
