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Chris Walden Big Band: No Bounds
ByGrowing up in Hamburg, Germany, Walden acquired a European sensibility but, unlike some European musicians, he also assimilated the American jazz idiom. The result is an album with universal appeal. Take, for example, "Clay's Theme, by Till Bronner, who also plays the marvellous trumpet solo on this track. Waldenas arranger and conductorcombines a cinematic use of strings and harp, with a laid back rhythm section, flugelhorn, and baritone saxophone, to create a unified backdrop for the haunting melody. On "In The Doghouse, he combines a film noir atmosphere with some swinging big band effects and a plunger mute trombone solo, in a lively series of changes that are simultaneously diverse and unified.
Tierney Sutton does a fine job as vocalist on two standards: "People Will Say We're In Love and "Smile. Her precision and subtle inflections blend beautifully with the band. "Someday My Prince Will Come comes on lively and alternately lightly and jumping, with a bow to the Miles Davis version (Wynton Kelly's original piano playing is echoed by Alan Steinberger's fine keyboard work). "Otterkamp is a Walden original realized by Martin Tillman on electric cello. The soft brass and woodwind intro has echoes of Gil Evans, and Tillman peforms a virtuosic solo that would have charmed romantics like Dvorak. Then, a (surprising) Latin beat takes the piece dancing late into the night.
In an era when tabloid-type sensationalism haunts music and the arts, this straightforward, articulate and soft-spoken album reminds us of how great jazz music can bewhen genuine sensibility and inventiveness combine with consummate musicianship to produce something memorable.
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Track Listing
Winter Games; When You Wish Upon a Star; No Bounds; People Will Say We
Personnel
Chris Walden
arrangerChris Walden: composer, arranger, conductor, drum synth programming; Wayne Bergeron, Kye Palmer, Ron King, Carl Saunders, Kevin Richardson, Till Br
Album information
Title: No Bounds | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Origin Records
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