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SPOKE: (r)anthems
by Ernest Barteldes
On (r)anthems, the New York-based ensemble takes various pop classics and favorite World Music tunes and reinvents them into their own flavor, either going into a New Orleans-tinged feel or just improvising around the melody. An example is Stevie Wonder's “Tell Me Something Good," which is re-purposed here into a marching band-like vibe. The Beatles' “Blackbird" (incorrectly credited solely to Paul McCartney) begins with the original guitar line as a duet. The ensemble then improvises freely around the melody.
read moreSPOKE: (r)anthems
by Dan Bilawsky
According to the members of SPOKE, this album--the band's third to date--"is both musical rant and anthem." So what does that mean? Well, it means that there's an intentional balancing act between the raw and refined, the focused and the untamed, and the grand and rowdy. Nothing ever goes off the rails and nothing is ever too sedate or bland, as the members of SPOKE continually switch gears and change hats. There's also enough stylistic diversity at play--pop, bop, spicy ...
read moreAndy Hunter: Think Like A Mountain
by Dan Bilawsky
Trombonist Andy Hunter has taken a seat in many of the most important big bands of the past decade, yet many are still unaware of his skills. He sadly suffers from “section man syndrome": that ailment that afflicts those who are heard by many, yet never truly seen for who they are. Hunter, who has resided in Brooklyn for the better part of a decade, has put his round and occasionally robust horn to good use in bassist Dave Holland's ...
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