Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Peter Weniger: With the Metropole Orchestra

147

Peter Weniger: With the Metropole Orchestra

By

View read count
Peter Weniger: With the Metropole Orchestra
Saxophonist Peter Weniger, hardly more than a blip on Jazz radar screens here in the States, has achieved a far more prominent stature in Germany and Europe, impressive enough to be invited in ’94 to record with the prestigious Netherlands Metropole Orchestra under director / arranger Rob Pronk. He’s in pretty good company, as American reedmen who’ve recorded with the MO include Zoot Sims, Nick Brignola, Bob Cooper, Bud Shank, Lew Tabackin, Lee Konitz and Ronnie Cuber — not to mention such other notables as trumpeters Bobby Shew, Clark Terry, Claudio Roditi, Ack van Rooyen and Rolf Ericson; trombonists Bob Brookmeyer, Andy Martin, Jiggs Whigham and Bart van Lier; Swiss alto saxophonist George Robert, Swedish tenor Leo Janssen, and composer / arrangers Bill Holman, Clare Fischer and Chuck Israels. Pronk wrote eight of the charts for Weniger’s album; the others are by Kenny Napper (Christopher Komeda’s “Rosemarie’s Baby”) and Henk Huizinga (Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood”). Weniger divides his time equally between tenor and soprano sax, and is outstanding on either one. He also composed the songs “Together Again,” “Dear Old Friend” and “Less Is Best” (the German translation of “less” is Weniger). The string–laden MO, meanwhile, is typically schizophrenic, sounding at times like a standard–issue big band, at others like a symphony orchestra that has stumbled into the wrong concert hall, but maestro Pronk cleverly blends all the ingredients to produce a flavorsome pastiche of stylish big–band Jazz. Weniger, at its center, displays excellent chops, a pleasing sound on tenor or soprano, and a stream of well–chosen ideas that never seems to slacken. Under Pronk’s able supervision, Weniger and the Metropole Orchestra form a championship–caliber team.

Contact:Mons Records, Taubenplatz 42, 67705 Trippstadt, Germany. Phone (0 63 06) 18 78; fax (0 63 06) 26 25; e–mail [email protected]

Track Listing

There Is No Greater Love; Together Again; There Will Never Be Another You; Rosemarie

Personnel

Peter Weniger
saxophone, tenor

Peter Weniger, tenor and soprano saxophone, with the Metropole Orchestra directed by Rob Pronk.

Album information

Title: With the Metropole Orchestra | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Mons Records

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

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.