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Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer
by Angelo Leonardi
Questo disco ci è giunto con un po' di ritardo ma va assolutamente segnalato. È infatti uno dei migliori dischi dell'anno nonchè un omaggio al genio orchestrale di Bob Brookmeyer. Forse non tutti sanno che lo storico trombonista, partner negli anni cinquanta di Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan e Jimmy Giuffre, è stato uno di massimi orchestratori moderni: nel 1966 partecipò alla fondazione della Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, scrivendo decine di partiture, e nel 1990 ne divenne il direttore, quando la ...
Continue ReadingVanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer
by John Ephland
There's a richness, a depth, a density to his varied charts. And the soloists and ensemble passages inside those charts! Such has always been the case with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, then, and now. For real, gliding from the spirit of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, this edition of the VJO now embraces another one of its own: trombonist/composer/arranger/pianist Bob Brookmeyer, with Over Time: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer. And what different sound comes from this grand aggregate of ...
Continue ReadingVanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music of Bob Brookmeyer
by Jack Bowers
While it may be hard to believe, the reality is that the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is nearing the end of its first half-century together. Formed in 1966 as the Thad Jones -Mel Lewis Orchestra, it continued on after Jones' departure as the Mel Lewis Orchestra, then as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra after Lewis' death in February 1990. During many of those years, the ensemble was enriched by the compositions and arrangements of the renowned Bob Brookmeyer (1929-2011), a master craftsman ...
Continue ReadingThe Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: OverTime: Music Of Bob Brookmeyer
by Dan Bilawsky
Trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer extraordinaire Mel Lewis may have given birth to the band that's now known as The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, but the late Bob Brookmeyer gave the group artistic independence at a time when it was sorely needed. When Jones left the fold and departed for Europe at the tail end of the '70s, things could've gone a very different way for this storied outfit: it could've simply carried on as a pretty good ...
Continue ReadingGary Smulyan, Dominic Chianese: Bella Napoli
by Alberto Bazzurro
Il CD (nel senso del dischetto) è esattamente una pizza in miniatura, né più né meno (cambia ovviamente la materia prima...). Già questo--e magari anche il titolo--ci dice non poco sulla natura del “progetto," che vede un attore, Dominic Chianese, noto per essere tra i protagonisti della fortunata serie I Soprano (il disco è fra l'altro dedicato a James Gandolfini, morto da poco), e un manipolo di pur apprezzati jazzisti saccheggiare con gusto e misura prossimi allo zero il pur ...
Continue ReadingGary Smulyan with Dominic Chianese at Jazz At Kitano
by Dan Bilawsky
Gary Smulyan with Dominic Chianese Jazz At Kitano New York, NY April 5, 2014 Shortly before this show began, on a beautiful Saturday evening that truly marked the start of spring, a small crew of musicians and concert-goers, including this writer, were seated around the bar at Jazz At Kitano. The mood in the room was one of relaxation, with a low hum of conversation and laughter hanging in the air. The intelligently irrepressible ...
Continue ReadingGary Smulyan & Dominic Chianese: Bella Napoli
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
Although Gary Smulyan is arguably the world's greatest baritone saxophonist, does that mean we all want to hear him blow on “Funiculi Funicula?" Is anyone especially eager to learn what world-class jazz players would do with such music, especially if your ancestral homeland isn't shaped like a boot? The quick answer might be no --- until you learn that Bella Napoli also features six vocals by the estimable Dominic Chianese, probably best known for playing devious Uncle Junior ...
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