The Seeker
| The Seeker | ||||
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| Live album from Aardvark Jazz Orchestra | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Leo Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
3 |
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running time |
66:38 |
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Leo Feigin , Mark Harvey |
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Studio (s) |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
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The Seeker is a jazz album by the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra , recorded in 1998 and 2000 in the Kresge Auditorium of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts , and released in 2000 on Leo Records .
background
The Seeker is dedicated to the memory of John Coltrane ; the piece was commissioned for the 15th John Coltrane Memorial Concert , which premiered on October 8, 1994 in a performance at Northeastern University in Boston. Soloists in the 1998 recording are Harry Wellott and Craig Ellis (drums / percussion), Arni Cheatham (tenor saxophone), Phil Scarff (soprano saxophone) and Brad Jones (baritone saxophone).
Heartsong is dedicated to the Burmese freedom activist Aung San Suu Kyi , who was under house arrest at the time. The piece was commissioned by Roger and Sophie Clifton, friends of Suu Kyi and fans of the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. The composition premiered on March 28, 1998 at Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The piece begins with woodwind ensemble play; this is followed as soloists by John Funkhouser (piano), Richard Nelson (guitar), Bill Lowe (tuba), Greg Kelley (trumpet) and Bob Pilkington (trombone).
Passages / Psalms IV is part of a three-hour suite that deals with various psalms (4, 8, 46, 131); Excerpts from the suite were published on the previous album Psalms & Elegies (1997). Harvey's composition had its premiere with the recorded concert on April 16, 2000; Soloists were Mark Harvey (piano), Daniel Ian Smith (tenor saxophone), Taylor Ho Bynum (trumpet), Peter Bloom (flute), Bill Lowe (tuba), Jesse Williams (bass), Jay Keyser and Jeff Marsankis (trombone duo), Craig Ellis, (gong), Greg Kelley (trumpet), Arni Cheatham (flute), Phil Scarff (tenor saxophone), Richard Nelson (guitar) and Harry Wellott (percussion).
Track list
- Aardvark Jazz Orchestra: The Seeker (Leo Records - CD LR 068)
- The Seeker 18:10
- Heartsong 9:26
- Passages / Psalms IV 39:02
All compositions are by Mark Harvey. The songs The Seeker and Heartsong were recorded on April 25, 1998 in the Kresge Auditorium of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The title Passages / Psalms IV was recorded there on April 16, 2000.
reception
Aaron Steinberg said in his review of the album in JazzTimes that Mark Harvey did his job well with this production of the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. In the three extensive compositions, Harvey calmly guides his ensemble through the various styles. The pastoral heart song begins almost like a symphony , with flutes and clarinets playing lyrically over the dissonances that come from the strings inside the piano. “The monumental 'Passages / Psalms IV' begins with a long, ambient-like passage and then develops into a moment of volcanic polyphony . Before the piece takes its course, the band immerses itself in moments of frenzied swings, dense orchestral chords, icy saxophone-trumpet passages, smooth ensemble play and a touch of ragtime . The solo contributions are consistently good and worth listening to; Harvey and the AJO demanded a certain amount of perseverance from their listeners for this recording, but it definitely pays off. "
François Couture awarded the album three (out of five) stars in Allmusic and wrote about the title track, “ The Seeker is a heartfelt piece whose guided improvisations lead to Mancini-like riffs, with a fiery tenor solo by Arni Cheatham. The meditative phases, however, are soporific, which will only be canceled when the orchestra returns for the jubilant final passage. Heartsong , dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, is more delicate and more closely related to contemporary music (such as by Edgar Varèse ) than to jazz. A little confusing at first, it makes a nice break between the two big pieces of this program. Passages / Psalms IV begins - similar to the previous piece - sweetly and finally develops into a swing number before it breaks off and comes to a halt, which is repeated several times. Also here consistently written out passages with guided improvisations. According to Couture, passages contain some lengths; overall, it does not offer the committed experience of The Seeker and may seem too solemn to some listeners. Overall, this album is worth listening to, but does not break new ground in the direction of avant-garde orchestral jazz or experimental big band territories; the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra had already recorded better material. "
Glenn Astarita, who rated the album 3½ (out of 5 stars) in Al About Jazz , wrote of the title track The Seeker that it was “dominated by the rumbling and somehow sinewy sounds of the full orchestra, accompanied by sequences that include a handful of soloists that add introspective themes in the midst of flowing horns, graceful percussion and opposing motifs. ”Drummer Harry Wellot and percussionist Craig Ellis use“ a cavalcade of metrically irregular rhythms and subtle tonal shades that transform the orchestral voices into lost swing improvisations amid increasing developments Slide. " Passages / Psalms IV is dominated" by scratchy, rough-throated phrasing of Taylor Ho Bynum's glowing tones, while the musicians are catapulted into a domino effect at this moment , in which the horns and woodwinds carefully shift themes and melodies. Nevertheless, the boisterous daydreams finally make a pleasant 4/4 time space and Peter Bloom's hip and jazzy flute playing. Therefore, Mark Harvey's multidimensional structures develop from subthemes, as the musicians effectively change the color tone and appearance of these often polytonal and extroverted arrangements . "
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Liner Notes from Mark Harvey's album
- ↑ Discographic information at Discogs
- ^ Review of the album by Aaron Steinberg (2001) in JazzTimes
- ^ Review of François Couture's album at Allmusic (English). Retrieved May 21, 2016.
- ^ Review of Glenn Astarita's album in AAJ