Dancer in Nowhere
| Dancer in Nowhere | ||||
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| Studio album by Miho Hazama | ||||
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| Label (s) | Verve Records | |||
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CD |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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Studio (s) |
Sound on Sound Studios, Montclair, New Jersey |
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Dancer in Nowhere is the third studio album by arranger and composer Miho Hazama . The recordings were made on August 22nd and 23rd, 2018 at Sound on Sound Studios in Montclair, New Jersey and were released in 2018 on Verve Records / Universal Music .
background
Miho Hazama's third album contains exclusively her own compositions except for John Williams ' "Olympic Fanfare and Theme". The m_unit ensemble consists of a standard rhythm section , a group of winds and a number of strings.
The word Nowhere in the title of the album refers - according to the singer and music critic Suzanne Lorge - to the composer's intention to channel intense, abstract ideas into musical reality. "To achieve this, it usually starts with a simple explanatory melodic statement that serves as a starting point for the following exploration game." On "somnambulant" Hazamas competition entry for the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize at the BMI Jazz Workshop in 2015 , it sets the main motif in a lonely, glowing vocal line (Kavita Shah) in front of the rhythm ( Jake Goldbas ) and the saxophone ( Jason Rigby ); this draws the audience into a tension-laden, ever-deeper harmonic montage. Despite its constantly changing roadmap, the piece contains two major turning points: a plaintive, bluesy electric guitar solo by guest musician Lionel Loueke and a curved final sequence with the strings - no voice, no saxophone, no guitar, no drums.
Track list
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- Miho Hazama - Dancer in Nowhere (Verve Records - UCCJ-2162, Universal Music - UCCJ-2162)
- Today, Not Today - Soloists: James Shipp, Jonathan Powell 8:03
- The Cyclic Number - Soloists: Atsuki Yoshida, Jake Goldbas, Ryoji Ihara, Sam Anning 8:02
- RUN - Soloists: Ryoji Ihara, Steve Wilson 7:06
- Somnambulist soloists: Jason Rigby, Lionel Loueke 9:44
- Il Paradiso del Blues - Soloists: Andrew Gutauskas, Steve Wilson 8:56
- Magyar Dance - Soloists: Billy Test, Jonathan Powell 8:06
- Olympic Fanfare and Theme (John Williams) - Soloists: Adam Unsworth, Andrew Gutauskas, Atsuki Yoshida, Billy Test, Ryoji Ihara, Steve Wilson, Tomoko Akaboshi 6:08
- Dancer in Nowhere - Soloists: Jason Rigby, Nate Wood 8:38
reception
The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in late 2019 .
Britt Robson, who reviewed the album on JazzTimes , said it was no coincidence that the three albums Miho Hazama recorded with her 13-member m_unit “convey a sense of movement that is both tangible and ethereal . Hazama's compositions are noticeably restless and reassuringly smooth. She knows how to conjure up impressionistic clouds that blossom into clarity and create clearings for soloists to present their arguments before a new juxtaposition emerges. "
In the opinion of Suzanne Lorge, who gave the album four stars on Down Beat , every moment of Miho Hazama's dancer in Nowhere “ seems to be meant for full emotional impact - there is no single way out of this carefully crafted recording. As a composer, she maximizes the sound and volume of each of the 13 “instruments” in her ensemble. As a conductor, she ensures that every sound has its own impression, while it comes to the fore through the kaleidoscopic changes in her compositions. Nonetheless, the recording is not exaggerated: "Hazama's compositions are as economical as they are lavish - a difficult balance." According to the author, one of the reasons why Hazama's compositions work just as well is their strict attention to dynamics, which ease mood swings. Some of Hazama's pieces here are closer to what you'd expect from a big band sound, such as with a dominant brass section. John Williams' "Olympic Fanfare And Theme," the only third-party composition on the album, and "Il Paradiso Del Blues," an impressive showcase of Hazama's horn arranging skills, both fit, if only just, into this scheme. Again, Hazama finds a way to turn the melody to her advantage - and to the listener's surprise.
Angelo Leonardi wrote in the Italian edition of All About Jazz that this album highlights Mihos Hazama's ability to combine refinement of sound and melodic ease with a very rich rhythmic and metric articulation. The result is a surprising flow of constantly moving musical situations that combine stylistic elements of the modern orchestral mainstream with chamber music accents that are always punctual and never presumptuous. The arrangements are meticulous, but always exciting and diverse. It does not suppress the creativity of the soloists and offers constant surprises. In Leonardi's view, the closest stylistic reference is that to Maria Schneider , but ultimately somewhat closer to the compositions and arrangements of Darcy James Argue . One of the most articulated pieces, “Il paradiso del Blues”, is worth highlighting, which is characterized by an instrumentation of strong rhythmic urgency, surprising forms (dissonant strings) and swinging interventions by Steve Wilson on the alto and Andrew Gutauskas on the baritone saxophone. Particularly noticeable is the long “somnambulant” whose chamber music beginning - strict and thin - finds its logical (albeit unusual) epilogue in the long solo by Lionel Loueke on the electric guitar.
Web links
- Listing of the album on Allmusic (English). Accessed December 1, 2019.
- Miho Hazama - Dancer in Nowhere . Sunnyside Records, May 6, 2019, accessed December 17, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Suzanne Lorge: Miho Hazama - Dancer In Nowhere. Downbeat, March 1, 2019, accessed December 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Miho Hazama - Dancer in Nowhere at Discogs
- ↑ 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards (2019) - Nominations: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Dancer in Nowhere
- ^ Britt Robson: Miho Hazama - Dancer in Nowhere . JazzTimes, May 6, 2019, accessed December 7, 2019 .
- ^ Angelo Leonardi: I nuovi progetti di Miho Hazama. All About Jazz, May 6, 2019, accessed December 7, 2019 .