Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Steven Cerra
On A TRIBUTE TO HERBIE + 1 which was released on February 5, 2016 on Summit / MAMA Records - [MAA-1049] - one of the most distinguished saxophonists in the world of big band, Dick Oatts, teams with mastermind co-leader Mats Holmquist and his stunning arrangements of some of Herbie's most intriguing and subsequently most famous tunes from the '60s and 70s. Throw in some of the best musicians New York has to offer, and the result is one powerful recording!
If you are not familiar with the Minimalist approach to Jazz orchestration, Mats’ arrangements employ them to create a dazzling array of new sonorities and textures.
If you are a fan of Big Band Jazz, you don’t want to miss this one. In its originality, I doubt that you’ve ever heard anything like it.
As to the musicianship on display throughout - fugetaboutit! The nine stunning tracks on this recording went down with less that one day’s rehearsal!!
Here’s what Mats Holmquist has to say in his insert notes to the recently issued recording:
“When I first heard the classic album by the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, featuring the arrangements of Brokmeyer from 1980, I was filled with the deepest respect and admiration for the musicianship of saxophonist Dick Oatts. His performances on Skylark and Ding Dong Ding are truly memorable classics. In my opinion Dick Oatts is by far the most distinguished lead, and solo saxophonist in the big band world. As a lead player and artistic director of the Vanguard Orchestra he has amassed an amazing experience of the finest possible big band music and musicians.
To work with Dick as a co-bandleader of an ensemble with some of the greatest big band musicians in New York, would of course be every big band composer/arranger's dream. When we started planning this project Dick and John Mosca started thinking about which musicians from "the city" would be the best choice for this specific project. They came up with this excellent group of people. Together we decided to also add some of the most distinguished musicians of Scandinavia, since that is my origin. Our decision fell on tenorist Robert Nordmark from Sweden, trumpeter Frank Brodahl from Norway and trombonist Steen Nikolaj Hansen from Denmark.
The music on this album consists of my interpretations of some of Herbie Hancock's most famous compositions from the '60s and '70s plus my own original "Stevie R.". The starting point is the minimalist compositional techniques I have developed for big band since around 2005.
read more: http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com.br
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