Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Dave Tofani: An American Garden

153

Dave Tofani: An American Garden

By

View read count
Dave Tofani: An American Garden
Dave Tofani is one of many jazz artists who are extraordinarily talented, but who never quite receive the recognition and adulation their work deserves. Tofani has an impressive resume fitting in with such diverse artists and groups as Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, The New York Philharmonic, John Lennon, Steely Dan and Frank Sinatra, among others. He is also a composer of significant skill. His writings appear on more than 500 jazz and classical albums and over 100 major film soundtracks. Yet An American Garden is his first album as a leader. To showcase this collection of his seven expanded jazz compositions, he utilizes an assortment of ensembles varying in size from a quintet to a string orchestra, totaling 41 of New York City's finest performing and studio musicians. Tofani is featured on most cuts playing one or more of the variety of instruments he has mastered, including the alto, soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, a conglomeration of flutes, clarinets and other instruments. The album kicks off with the upbeat modern complex title tune played by the large band, recalling some of the work of masters of compositions for large aggregations Gil Evans and Gerald Wilson. In contrast, there's the graceful "Elizabeth's Journey" with Tofani's alto riding the plush melodic cushion laid down by the string section. There's even a piece with classical chamber music bent with the flute dominated "Quintetto di Flauti". Matters get a bit more passionate and dramatic with Tofani once more on alto as he applauds the mysteries of the nocturnal Big Apple with "New York at Night". All restraint is put aside as the band easily negotiates meter shifts on the album's rousing coda, "Liberte". A fitting way to end a CD filled with a diversity of musical forms played by top of the list jazz musicians. Recommended.

Track Listing

An American Garden; New York at Night; Quintetto di Flauti; High Mowing Orchestral Suite; Elizabeth's Journey; Rough Ride; Liberte

Personnel

Dave Tofani
saxophone

Dave Tofani - Alto, Tenor, Baritone & Soprano Sax/Flutes/Piccolo/Electric Keyboard/Clarinet/ Bass Clarinet; Lawrence Feldman - Alto Sax; Dennis Anderson, Ted Nash - Tenor Sax; Ronnie Cuber - Baritone Sax; Bob Millikan, Danny Cahn, Alan Rubin, Marvin Stamm - Trumpet; Jim Pugh, Birch Johnson, Keith O'Quinn - Trombone; Dave Taylor - Bass Trombone; Pat Rebillot - Piano; Ronnie Zito, Danny Gottlieb - Drums; Jeff Mironov, Jack Wilkins - Guitar; Jack Cortner - Conductor; Zev Katz - Electric Bass; David Finck, John Beal, Jay Leonhart - Acoustic Bass; Mark Egan - Fretless Bass; Gordon Gottlieb - Dumbek/Cymbals/Percussion; Ray Spiegel - Tabla; New York City String Orchestra

Album information

Title: An American Garden | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Solowinds

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.