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Webber / Morris Big Band: Both Are True

by John Sharpe
On Both Are True Canadian composers and reed players Anna Webber and Angela Morris reimagine the language of the big band. They extend the tradition through adventurous arrangements spiced with the unpredictability of improv, by co-opting the nimbleness of a much smaller group, and reveling in non-standard techniques. Webber has already garnered plaudits for the work of her Simple Trio with Matt Mitchell and John Hollenbeck, while Morris' ventures such as the Motel Trio boast a lower profile so far. ...
Continue ReadingRemy Le Boeuf: Assembly Of Shadows

by Glenn Astarita
With his second date as a leader, multi-woodwind artist Remy Le Boeuf performs these largely self-penned comps with an orchestra, featuring notable musicians Anna Webber (woodwinds), Alex Goodman (guitar) and other jazz VIPs. Here, the leader's composing acuity brims with multicolored hues and harmonious arrangements, largely executed with a composite of modern jazz and classical inferences via gradual buildups, brash outbreaks and complex unison choruses that occasionally mimic single note bop lines. Sure enough, this young visionary's unflagging creative spirit ...
Continue ReadingRemy Le Boeuf: Assembly Of Shadows

by Dan McClenaghan
Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly Of Shadows, an ambitious jazz orchestra recording, opens with his original composition, the cinematic Strata," followed by a majestic take on alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's Honeymooners," a tune from the free jazz pioneer's Virgin Beauty (Portrait Records, 1988). These sounds--collectively clocking in at fifteen and a half minutes--set the stage for the five-part Assembly Of Shadows Suite." Saxophonist Le Bouef considered the voices in his orchestra for the purposes of highlighting the individual musical personalities, a ...
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