It is only April and already 2013 is looking like a really good year for jazz records. The latest offering I've snapped up is a real killer and features John Hollenbeck fronting the Frankfurt Radio Big Band. A former student of the great Bob Brookmeyer, this offering by the drummer / arranger features a couple of vocalists - his usual cohort Theo Bleckmann and the rather odd choice of Kate McGarry.
The record has only just arrived this evening and the few tracks I've listened to are terrific. In my opinion, John Hollenbeck is a musician who is genuinely redefining what jazz can do. In parts, the music borrows a lot from contemporary classical music and anyone who is into the likes of Mark Anthony Turnage will want to check this CD out. The repertoire is eclectic to say the least mixing Ornette Coleman's beautiful "All my life" (Sounding like it has escaped from "Miles ahead" )with "Wichita Lineman" and the traditional song "Man of constant sorrow." So far, the most amazing chart has to be the re-working of Queen's "Bicycle Race." Of all the rock groups of the 70's and 80's, I think Queen probably had a better handle of musicianship than their contemporaries but I would have thought their music would still have been outside the possibilities of jazz. In Hollenbeck's hands, the music becomes far more strident and confidently dissonant . The arrangement picks up on Queen's cod-operatic tendancies and the tune is turned on it's head with the arrangement morphing into odd-meters and chaotic brass with Hollenbeck even soloing on the spikes of a bicycle in a pretty bizarre solo. A concluding riff the makes it's appearance that will baffle most Queen fans with the theme then sung at half tempo by McGarry and Bleckman.
For my money Hollenbeck is turning out to be a hugely creative individual and whilst purists may not be convinced, i would suggest that his writing abilities are totally original and offer a path to where jazz might head in the future. This is one of the best and most creative albums of the year so far.
The record has only just arrived this evening and the few tracks I've listened to are terrific. In my opinion, John Hollenbeck is a musician who is genuinely redefining what jazz can do. In parts, the music borrows a lot from contemporary classical music and anyone who is into the likes of Mark Anthony Turnage will want to check this CD out. The repertoire is eclectic to say the least mixing Ornette Coleman's beautiful "All my life" (Sounding like it has escaped from "Miles ahead" )with "Wichita Lineman" and the traditional song "Man of constant sorrow." So far, the most amazing chart has to be the re-working of Queen's "Bicycle Race." Of all the rock groups of the 70's and 80's, I think Queen probably had a better handle of musicianship than their contemporaries but I would have thought their music would still have been outside the possibilities of jazz. In Hollenbeck's hands, the music becomes far more strident and confidently dissonant . The arrangement picks up on Queen's cod-operatic tendancies and the tune is turned on it's head with the arrangement morphing into odd-meters and chaotic brass with Hollenbeck even soloing on the spikes of a bicycle in a pretty bizarre solo. A concluding riff the makes it's appearance that will baffle most Queen fans with the theme then sung at half tempo by McGarry and Bleckman.
For my money Hollenbeck is turning out to be a hugely creative individual and whilst purists may not be convinced, i would suggest that his writing abilities are totally original and offer a path to where jazz might head in the future. This is one of the best and most creative albums of the year so far.
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