LOOKING FOR AMERICA was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Jazz
Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, New York on October 7 & 8, 2002
Lawrence Feldman soprano and alto saxophones, flute
Wolfgang Puschnig alto saxophone (solos), flute
Andy Sheppard tenor saxophone (solos)
Craig Handy tenor saxophone
Gary Smulyan baritone saxophone (solos)
Earl Gardner trumpet
Lew Soloff trumpet (solos)
Byron Stripling trumpet
Giampaolo Casati trumpet
Jim Pugh trombone
Gary Valente trombone (solos)
Dave Bargeron trombone
David Taylor bass trombone
Karen Mantler organ, glockenspiel
Carla Bley piano, conductor
Steve Swallow bass
Billy Drummond drums
Don Alias percussion
Robert Routch French horn
Danilo Zeni siren
With the aid of a powerful telescope and a healthy dose of irony the indefatigable Ms Bley goes looking for the heart and soul of America. New compositions, infected by a "patriotic virus", are played with verve by an almost all-American Big Band. Featured soloists include Gary Valente, Lew Soloff and willing European confederates Andy Sheppard and Wolfgang Puschnig.
With an unlikely amalgam of influences including Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, Oliver Nelson, Charles Ives, and Woodstock-fatback-groove, Carla Bley's musical palette is a quirky and uncompromising one. A maverick in the American tradition by any standard, Bley began writing crystalline melodies for her first husband, pianist Paul Bley, in the early 1960s. She made a name for herself writing for other musicians, winning many awards along the way from institutions like Down Beat and Jazz Times.
If you enjoy your patriotism, not to mention your jazz, with an impish twist, her 2003 installment, LOOKING FOR AMERICA, might be the ticket. Clocking in at nearly 22-minutes, her version of the National Anthem, loosely based on "The Star Spangled Banner," might be the most original version of the piece since Jimi Hendrix's notorious performance in '69. As their titles imply, "Fast Lane" and "Tijuana Traffic" come replete with pulsing car-horn harmonies. The writing for the brass and winds throughout is done with bright, bold colors and tight, interlocking rhythms. The proceedings are capped off with a slaphappy "Old MacDonald." |
