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Alan Ferber Big Band: Jigsaw
by Jack Bowers
The Jigsaw mapped out by trombonist Alan Ferber's splendid New York City-based ensemble comprises a number of dissimilar pieces, drawn from a broad range of musical patterns, which makes its assemblage arduous yet ultimately rewarding. Ferber's sophisticated arrangements manifest a pensive, and at times ethereal, temper that is far removed from the realm of flag-wavers and barn-burners on which big bands once relied as their raison d'etre. That's not to say that there aren't times when Ferber ...
Continue ReadingAlan Ferber: Jigsaw
by Angelo Leonardi
Tra il pubblico del jazz italiano è colpevolmente poco noto. Eppure Alan Ferber è tra i più attivi e richiesti trombonisti contemporanei, con più di cento incisioni da sideman negli ultimi 15 anni (tra cui con le orchestre di John Hollenbeck, Darcy James Argue, Brian Landrus, Ted Nash, Gerald Wilson ed i gruppi di Nels Cline, Michael Formanek, Miguel Zenon) e otto album da leader, generalmente a capo di una big band o di un medio organico (i più recenti: ...
Continue ReadingAlan Ferber: Roots & Transitions
by Budd Kopman
The first thing that ought to be said about trombonist/composer/bandleader Alan Ferber's latest recording, Roots & Transitions, for his long-standing nonet is that the music holds up very well regardless of whether one knows the circumstances that surrounded its creation. However, this release marks an important milestone in Ferber's life--the birth of his first child in 2013. Now, Ferber is not the first husband to find his entire attitude toward life completely change with the arrival of a ...
Continue ReadingAlan Ferber: March Sublime
by Mark Corroto
When you open a nice bottle of red wine, to get the best results, it is better to set the bottle aside for some time. You let the wine, as they say, “breathe," allowing oxygen to bring out the hidden flavors. Same for a big band recording like Alan Ferber's March Sublime. Instead of setting the disc aside, you might check with your neighbors (or close your windows) and turn up the volume. At higher amplification, the subtleties and nuances ...
Continue ReadingAlan Ferber Nonet Plus Strings at Jazz Gallery on December 16, 2010
by Daniel Lehner
Alan Ferber Nonet Plus StringsThe Jazz GalleryNew York City, USADecember 16, 2010 Despite having fewer members than an average big band, the concept of a nonet plus an eight-piece string section seems like a huge undertaking. Even the sight of violins and cellos in front of the large small group in the cozy confines of New York City's Jazz Gallery seemed overwhelming. Perhaps it's because the suffix “with strings" conjures up images of a huge ...
Continue ReadingAlan Ferber: Chamber Songs: Music for Nonet and Strings
by Raul d'Gama Rose
There is a magnificent sequence on “Paradox," about four and a half minutes into the piece, as it races upward. The instruments trade interpretations of the song's conundrum, its paradox, the inverted chord changes on which the song is built--saxophones, then trumpet, the blat-blat-blat of Alan Ferber's trombone, before the strings get their say. It is here that the true ingenuity of the composer's musical apparition comes into light. The truth is that Ferber appears to have heard every instrument ...
Continue ReadingAlan Ferber: Developing String Theory
by Franz A. Matzner
Trombonist and composer Alan Ferber is a precise and thoughtful individual whose careful, deliberate expression is equally evident in both his insightful way of speaking--and his beautifully composed and executed recordings. As a freelancer, Ferber has tackled a wide breadth of music, everything from big band and small ensemble jazz to Broadway musicals and the beats of Dr. Dre.But it is as a composer and a performer of his own music that Ferber's gifts most clearly shine.
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