Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Valley Jazz Orchestra: Free Food?

167

Valley Jazz Orchestra: Free Food?

By

View read count
Valley Jazz Orchestra: Free Food?
It's unusual, to say the least, to encounter a big band album whose opening five-movement suite is dedicated to a local park. But such is the case with Free Food?, on which the Pennsylvania-based Valley Jazz Orchestra pays its respects with "Village Green, in Blue," a musical portrait of Bellefonte's Talleyrand Park written and arranged by the orchestra's co-leader, tenor saxophonist Rick Hirsch.

The VJO, a semi-pro ensemble that has been performing weekly for the past six years at the American Alehouse near State College, Pennsylvania, acquits itself rather well on this largely entertaining concert date, recorded in November '05 at Bellefonte's Garman Opera House. The fly in the ointment, as is often true of live performances, lies in the recording itself, which also sounds semi-pro, deflecting one's intention to glean a true picture of the orchestra's proficiency. The VJO sounds pretty good, but I've a hunch it would have sounded better under more agreeable circumstances.

Be that as it may, there's some decent music being played here, and a number of respectable charts, the best of which—and this isn't even a contest—is Bill Holman's off-center arrangement of "You Go to My Head, nicely played by the orchestra (in spite of some audible lapses, especially in the trumpet section) behind pleasant solos by Hirsch, trumpeter Derek McDonald and the VJO's only full-time "pro, alto saxophonist and co-founder Dan Yoder, who's a professor at—I'm guessing—Penn State (Hirsch merely says "at a Big Ten university, but that's the only one east of Ohio, unless he commutes).

Besides the tunes already mentioned, the VJO performs "Besame Mucho, Benny Carter's "Miss Missouri, Matt Dennis/Tom Adair's "The Night We Called It a Day, Gordon Goodwin's lively "Sing Sang Sung and "Bohemian Rhapsody, which according to its introduction must have been popularized by a group named Queen (sorry, I haven't a clue). Yoder arranged "Mucho and "Day, Hirsch "Bohemian Rhapsody. While Hirsch and Yoder are the main soloists, there are amiable turns by the aforementioned McDonald, alto Matt Donovan, tenor Georgios Giannos, baritone Erik McDonough, trombonists Jay Vonada and Paul Leskowicz, pianist Billy Test and drummer Aaron Kimmel (most prominent on "Sing Sang Sung ).

Okay, the concert doesn't exactly get off to a breathtaking start with the largely pensive "Village Green suite, and there's nothing elsewhere that's liable to knock anyone for a loop. On the other hand, it's an earnest performance by seventeen part-time musicians who are giving it everything they have. Their little corner of the world is exceedingly blessed to have them there.

Track Listing

Village Green, in Blue: Introduction; 1. Lifeblood; 2. Suspended; 3. Free Food? Free Food!; 4. Placid; 5. Aspire; Miss Missouri; Besame Mucho; The Night We Called It a Day; You Go to My Head; Bohemian Rhapsody; Sing Sang Sung (63:54).

Personnel

Rick Hirsch: co-leader, tenor saxophone; Dan Yoder: co-leader, alto, soprano saxophone; Andy Harbison, Jason VanVoorhis, Michael Kerns, Scott Sheehan, Derek McDonald: trumpet, flugelhorn; Matt Donovan: alto sax; Georgios Giannios: tenor sax; Erik McDonough: baritone sax; Paul Leskowicz, Jay Vonada, Mike Bruster, trombone: Mike Loewen, bass trombone: Billy Test: keyboards; Jim Robinson: bass; Aaron Kimmel: drums.

Album information

Title: Free Food? | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: VJO

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

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.