Maria Schneider Orchestra: Days of Wine and Roses: Live at the Jazz Standard

Which means that following up Concert in the Garden with Days of Wine and Roses—documenting Schneider's longstanding orchestra in performance at New York's Jazz Standard in early 2000—is a completely logical step. It's her first live recording, and given that five of the nine compositions come from other sources, it places her skill as an arranger in even sharper focus, perhaps, than it was with her own material. And it's an opportunity to hear a number of early self-penned compositions that are being released here for the first time. Strong compositions all, they nevertheless demonstrate just how much of a quantum leap Concert in the Garden represents.

It's also a tribute to David Baker—the late engineer responsible for capturing hundreds of jazz sessions in the best possible light. Baker's ability to create a rich aural landscape on the fly is no better demonstrated than on this live recording where, direct to two-track, mixing and imaging decisions had to be made in the moment—rather than how they would be handled in the context of multitrack recording, where one can experiment with different approaches over as much time as the artist can afford.

Given the economics of the jazz world, maintaining a constant devotion to a large ensemble represents a real commitment. Schneider clearly needs a large palette to express her detailed and deceptively complex arrangements. Whether on the relaxed swing of "Lately, featuring a spare solo from pianist Frank Kimbrough, or the more impressionistic "The Willow, where Scott Robinson delivers a remarkably tender baritone solo, Schneider's makes her seventeen-piece orchestra less a collection of individual parts and more an integrated whole. The horns may be sharp and brash on a liberally reworked, up-tempo arrangement of "That Old Black Magic, featuring a powerful tenor solo from Rick Margitza, but they're equally capable of lush warmth on "My Ideal, which begins as a soft ballad but ultimately picks up steam for Greg Gisbert's flugelhorn solo.

In a genre where instrumental prowess can overshadow the equally important vision of the artist who conceives the overall shape and texture of the music, the fact that so many players in Schneider's orchestra have been with her since the beginning speaks volumes. Concert in the Garden was a pinnacle, and Days of Wine and Roses serves as equally strong evidence that Schneider's name should be historically associated with other forward-thinking composer/arrangers like Gil Evans and Bob Brookmeyer, if it isn't already.

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