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Jazz Articles about Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer & WDR Big Band Cologne: Soundscapes
by Jack Bowers
Saxophonist Bob Mintzer, a New Yorker who left home long ago to see the world, is a professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music and chief conductor of the world-class WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, with whom he has recorded Soundscapes, a luminous showcase for his singular talents as composer, arranger and soloist. As anyone who is familiar with Mintzer--through big-band recordings, his quartet the Yellowjackets or other avenues--clearly understands, he will ...
Continue ReadingDave Stryker: Blue Soul
by Jerome Wilson
Germany's WDR Big Band has welcomed a great variety of musicians such as Fred Hersch, Michel Camilo, Ambrose Akinmusire and Jimmy Heath as guest soloists over the years. On this occasion they provide an invigorating backdrop for the springy and soulful guitar of Dave Stryker. The set list on this CD finds Stryker and the band tackling a combination of vintage pop and soul hits and the guitarist's original compositions, all arranged and conducted by saxophonist Bob Mintzer. ...
Continue ReadingDave Stryker with Bob Mintzer and the WDR Big Band: Blue Soul
by Jack Bowers
Bob Mintzer had an idea. The renowned tenor saxophonist, who serves as principal conductor of Cologne, Germany's world-class WDR Big Band, had made several appearances as guest artist with guitarist Dave Stryker's New York-based organ trio and was so impressed that he thought it would be a good idea to re-orchestrate some of Stryker's music for big band and invite the guitar maestro to return the favor by traveling to Germany and performing as guest artist with the WDR ensemble, ...
Continue ReadingSteve Khan: Patchwork
by John Kelman
Amongst the many myths out there about music-making—especially in jazz, where the improvisation quotient is often so high—is that composing may, indeed, be work, but doesn't require the kind of relentless attention to detail that far more truthfully defines how many artists write and arrange their music. These days, one need only look to music by artists including Pat Metheny, Antonio Sanchez and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah to find music conceived with intimate and painstaking detail while, at the same ...
Continue ReadingBob Mintzer Big Band / New York Voices: Meeting of Minds
by Jack Bowers
Here's an appetizing treat for fans of big bands and vocals alike, neatly wrapped in one handsome package by the stalwart Bob Mintzer Big Band and the splendid New York Voices. Together, band and voices take a fresh look at eight memorable standards from the Great American Songbook written by such master craftsmen as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Hoagy Carmichael, Kurt Weill, Burton Lane and others, entwining for good measure a brace of instrumentals: Vincent Youmans / Irving Caesar's buoyant ...
Continue ReadingBob Mintzer Big Band/New York Voices: Meeting Of Minds
by Dan Bilawsky
Meeting Of Minds plays more like a merger than an encounter. And that, after all, is how all successful collaborations should feel. Hearing Bob Mintzer's big band and New York Voices join forces for a trip through newly-arranged takes on '30s and '40s gems from the Great American Songbook is a reminder that some music can ring timeless and appear pliant all at once when placed in the right hands. New York Voices has paired up with ...
Continue ReadingBob Mintzer: All L.A. Band
by Angelo Leonardi
Ascoltando questo nuovo, scintillante, album orchestrale di Bob Mintzer mi chiedevo perchè si parli così poco di questo sassofonista e bandleader ormai 64enne. Dai primi anni ottanta ha diretto formidabili big band--incidendo una ventina di album -nel solco della tradizione mainstream che va da Count Basie a Thad Jones. In veste di autore ha scritto oltre 200 arrangiamenti per orchestra. Come sassofonista è membro stabile dei Yellowjackets, ha collaborato con Mike Mainieri, Jaco Pastorius, Art Blakey, Gil Evans e decine ...
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