Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Allen Farnham and the Rias Big Band: Allen Farnham Meets...

111

Allen Farnham and the Rias Big Band: Allen Farnham Meets the Rias Big Band

By

View read count
Allen Farnham and the Rias Big Band: Allen Farnham Meets the Rias Big Band
RIAS: Radio In America Sector. This German band was formed right after World War II and is now, according to pianist / arranger Allen Farnham, "one of the top contemporary studio / broadcast big bands in Europe."

No doubt that is true. These fellows are mostly relegated to the background for solos, as this disc is full of guest stars: Hendrik Meurkens on harmonica, Chris Potter on tenor, Chris Berger on bass, and Tim Horner on drums. However, trombonist / conductor Jigg Whigham takes a couple of stellar turns, and the flugelhorn of Till Brönner makes itself noticed on an assured version of the Coltrane slammer "Cousin Mary." Gregoire Peters weaves a hypnotic bass clarinet ostinato on Nat Adderley's "Work Song." The band plays with energy and drive enough to show their reputation deserved.

"Rias-ticity," Farnham's tribute to his mates, charges out of the starting gate. Potter's solo here and his others throughout the disc show off his chops and the affinity he shares with Greg Tardy for Rollinsian dive-bombs. Meurkens sounds like a horn, which is meant to be complimentary! "Work Song" continues the fire and passion, which are transmuted into yearning on Farnham's "Lost in Zurich (Verloren in Zürich)."

Highlights: Meurkens; "Cousin Mary" as a whole; the solos on "Samba de Sorvete"; the tightness of the ensemble work throughout, which is a tribute to the musicianship of the RIAS band and Jiggs Whigham.

This will appeal to Rob McConnell fans. It's solid and cheery. A fine band.

Other tracks: "There Will Never Be Another You," "Triste," "Gai-Kichi," "My Foolish Heart." Other personnel: Greg Bowen, Jordan Kapitanov, and Christian Grabandt (trumpets); Dan Gottshall, John Marshall, Thomas Loup and Andy Grossman (trombones); Klaus Marmulla (alto sax and clarinet); Walter Gauchel (tenor, flutes) and Rolf von Nordenskjöld (baritone and bass clarinet).

Personnel

Album information

Title: Allen Farnham Meets the Rias Big Band | Year Released: 1998 | Record Label: Concord Music Group

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.