Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Alan Broadbent: Developing Story

12

Alan Broadbent: Developing Story

By

View read count
Alan Broadbent: Developing Story
During the late '70s, now multi-Grammy Award-winning pianist Alan Broadbent, birthed the idea of merging the music of a jazz trio with a full orchestra and strings ..."in a complete phrase for woodwind soli, counterpoint..." in telling a musical story that is still unfolding today. This ongoing musical journey begins with Developing Story as Broadbent and his world-class trio of drummer Peter Erskine and bassist Harvie S, collaborates with the multimedia Hollywood industry London Metropolitan Orchestra (LMO) in presenting one of the most stunningly-gorgeous symphonically-styled jazz musical statements ever recorded.

Performing and conducting for orchestras is not a new thing for the pianist, evidenced by his many recordings in a large ensemble setting, and is currently the orchestra conductor for Diana Krall when in concert on occasion and, when not teaching at NYU. Peter Erskine is a multi-Grammy Award winner himself who has also performed with giants during his, over 600 appearances on albums and film scores throughout his career. Then there is legendary bassist Harvie S, former Jazz ambassador for the U.S. and long-time educator with the Manhattan School of Music, together, this piano trio is unmatched and though playing splendidly throughout the album, they sometimes seem overlooked, musically smothered by the awesome powerful play of the LMO and their strings.

The center-piece of the album is the title song suite performed in series of three separate movements beginning with "Movement 1," which has the orchestra starting off strong then withdrawing as Broadbent engages playing solo piano followed by brief interlude by the trio and settling into gentle musical expressions by the orchestra. "Movement 2" is a delightful slow waltz dedicated to the pianist's wife leading to "Movement 3" featuring an Erskine drum solo among solid horn section phrasings before subsiding and submitting to the pianists humbling chords.

The four jazz ballads for trio and orchestra include Tadd Dameron's classic "If You Could See Me Now," John Coltrane's well-travelled "Naima," the Miles Davis immortal "Blue in Green," and Broadbent's own "Lady in the Lake." Of standards, the pianist writes ..."have always been a gateway to expressing some feeling of the moment," and through his unique arrangements here, succeeds in conveying a musical message, a feeling that words cannot describe but an orchestra and warm keys, do so well.

The story continues and completes with a distinctly different arrangement of another Davis standard "Milestones," and the finale and last original "Children of Lima," penned for the great Woody Herman in the early 70s and around the time of a major earthquake in Peru, thus the dedication to the Children. The arrangement is the same as originally composed with changes for the orchestration. A continuing musical tale, Developing Story is a superb production and may be Alan Broadbent's finest musical moments, a treasure of symphonic jazz and a definite for anyone's personal collection of favorites, well done!

Track Listing

Movement 1; Movement 2; Movement 3; If You Could See Me Now; Naima; Blue in Green; Lady in the Lake; Milestones; Children of Lima.

Personnel

Alan Broadbent: piano; Peter Erskine: drums; Harvie S: bass; London Metropolitan Orchestra: Andy Brown: Musical Director; David Juritz: violin/leader; Ralph De Souza: violin; Garfield Jackson: cello; Caroline Dale: cello; Chris Laurence: double bass; Anna Noakes: flute; John Anderson: oboe; Anthony Pike: clarinet; Alan Andrews: bass clarinet; Gavin McNaughton: bassoon; Martin Owen: horn; John Barclay: trumpet; Chris Dean: tenor trombone; Owen Slade: tuba; Christine Pendrill: English Horn; Gill Tingay: harp; Gary Kettel: percussion; Tristin Fry: timps.

Album information

Title: Developing Story | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Eden River Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Alan Broadbent Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.