Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Southwest Jazz Orchestra: Live at the Albuquerque Museum

137

Southwest Jazz Orchestra: Live at the Albuquerque Museum

By

View read count
Southwest Jazz Orchestra: Live at the Albuquerque Museum
It's not often that a writer has a chance to compare a prior opinion to an actual recording that ensued from a concert at which he was present. I was duly impressed by the Santa Fe-based Southwest Jazz Orchestra's performance last July 1 at the Albuquerque Museum of Art, and equally so by the ensemble's inaugural CD, nicely recorded that evening by Art Welter. In other words, the concert, as a whole, was as admirable as I'd remembered.

As in any such event, of course, some moments are more pleasing than others. To me, the concert/album's explicit highlights are Gerry Mulligan's fast-paced "Idol Gossip and buoyant "Westwood Walk, both arranged by conductor/artistic director Jack Manno; plus Manno's original composition "Soaring and trombonist Ed Ulman's driving arrangements of "Dear Old Stockholm. Also: Charles Mingus' "Boogie Stop Shuffle, Bill Wood's soulful treatment of another Mingus theme, "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love, Arlen Asher's muscular baritone solos on "Westwood Walk, "Stockholm and "Sound of Love, and splendid work on every number by the SJO's stalwart rhythm section (Chris Ishee, piano; Michael Anthony, guitar; Chris Allen, vibes; Rodney Bowe, bass; Ryan Anthony, drums).

Manno accurately describes the group as "a chamber jazz ensemble dedicated to exploring the colors of sound through a variety of woodwinds, with a touch of brass and a five-piece rhythm section.... Smaller than the big bands of a bygone era—yet larger than the combos of today, he writes, "SJO has a sound like no other jazz ensemble. True or not, to produce that sound, the winds—Asher, Wood, Aaron Lewis, Cindy Tag—must double, triple or even quadruple, and each of them is up to the task. The SJO is bound primarily to the music of Mingus, Mulligan and Thelonious Monk. If I may offer an opinion (what are reviewers for?), the more Mulligan and less of the others the better—and I've always considered John Coltrane's magnum opus, "A Love Supreme, which consumes more than sixteen minutes of the album's playing time, to be more soporific than stimulating.

The same is true of poetry, which I appreciate even less than big band vocals, but which the SJO sees fit to use on two numbers, "Warne Marsh (Meets Kenny B), read by Mark Weber, and Mingus' "The Shout, read by Lauren Camp (a perfect name for reciting poetry set to jazz). One must concede, however, that bassist Bowe, Camp's lone accompanist on "Shout, is superb. The SJO closes the concert with even more Coltrane and poetry as Manno recites Trane's brief verse, "At Night, preceding Horace Silver's "Peace.

Live may be a mixed bag, but with far more pluses than minuses, adding up to a commendable debut by the SJO, most of whose members are educators in the Albuquerque/Sante Fe area. An absorbing lesson in classic jazz.

Track Listing

Idol Gossip: Soaring; Blue in Green; Warne Marsh (Meets Kenny B); Westwood Walk; The Shout/Boogie Stop Shuffle; Duke Ellington

Personnel

Jack Manno: artistic director, conductor; Jan McDonald: trumpet; Ed Ulman: trombone; Arlen Asher, Aaron Lewis, Cindy Tag, Bill Wood: reeds; Chris Ishee: piano; Chris Allen: vibes; Michael Anthony: guitar; Rodney Bowe: bass; Ryan Anthony: drums; Mark Weber, Lauren Camp: poetry.

Album information

Title: Live at the Albuquerque Museum | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Self Produced

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.