(By way of apology, read on.) Christopher Zuar, composer and arranger, released his second album as a leader, "Exuberance" (Tonal Conversations) in May of this year. At the time, I had been listening to the music for a month while recuperating from the first of two fractures. With everything piling up (including student Final Papers), the album kept getting shunted aside. Yet, I kept returning to the music, especially in the quiet morning hours where the only other sounds one hears is the songs of various birds. Now is my chance to tell you this album is one of the best of this year!
First off, who is Christopher Zuar? A native of Long Island, NY, Zuar has been composing since his youth, winning numerous awards. He did his undergraduate work at the New England Conservatory and earned his Masters of Music degree at the Manhattan school of Music. Along the way, he has studied with Jim McNeely, Maria Schneider, and Mike Holober and had his works performed by the WDR Big Band, the Danish Radio Big Band, and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra. He has arranged for artists such as Miho Hazama (a great arranger in her own right), Joel Ross, Theo Bleckmann, and more. His debut recording, "Musings", was issued in 2016 by Sunnyside Records to great critical acclaim. In his music, one can hear traces of the influences of his mentors but also of the 20th Century classical composers he listened to as well as more "popular music" artists.
The initial sessions for "Exuberance" took place in August of 2018 but due to numerous complications and the pandemic, did re-commence until three years later (August '21). The project is a partnership with animation filmmaker Annie Beal (they were married in 2022) when both had fellowships to the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire (go to https://vimeo.com/260899301 to see them at work). By then, they had created Tonal Conversations, an outlet for their creativity. The album is filled with brilliant musical conversations throughout played by an incredible 18-member band (see "personnel" below), many of them who have worked with each other on large ensemble projects. Guests include violinist Sara Caswell who has also shown up on numerous jazz and classical albums over the past few years. Conductor Mike Holober, who had produced Zuar's 2016 album, led the band for the recording sessions.
Photo: Maria Baranova
This music is quite melodic. The horn and brass sections often push the melodies forward –– they also often set the tone and mood of the music. The opening track, "In Winter Bloom", opens with with a static piano figure before the sections set the piece in motion. Their choruses set the the stage for solos from bassist Drew Gress and tenor saxophonist Jason Rigby. Listen below to "Communion", how the flutes and piccolos riuse aboe the horns to set the stage for Ms. Caswell's playing of the theme. Pianist Glenn Zaleski plays a second theme before the brass and flutes carry it forward, again opening the path for the piano solo. The violin solo that follows kicks the piece into the stratosphere as Gress and drummer Mark Ferber create a powerful thunderstorm.
Photo: Maria Baranova
One of the best aspects of this seven-song, 59-minute, program is that each song stands out on its own and as part of the overarching theme. "Simple Machines" blends the sound of Appalachian bluegrass with big band swing with Ben Kono creating a powerful tenor sax solo over a funky beat followed several minutes by a short fiddle hoedown (shades of Aaron Copland). That leads into a delightful mandolin spot from guest Joe Brent followed by a rollicking solo from Ms. Caswell. The episodic "Before Dawn" opens with a thunderstorm but, as the "day" breaks, the music becomes more tranquil. Guitarist Pete McCann creates a long, flowing, solo over the rhythm section until the horns and brass enter which then kicks his sound and attack into overdrive with drummer Ferber with him all the way through. One hears the storm fading as ther song closes.
Vocalist Emma Frank joins the Orchestra for the final track, the song that gives the album its title. The delightful love songs, lyrics by Ms. Beal, talks about how we all need to be nice, even as storms swirl around us as well as inside us. Ms. Frank flows along with the melody with the brass in unison behind her. The ensemble kicks into a higher gear for a hard-hitting alto sax solo courtesy of Dave Pietro followed by a fascinating trumpet spot from Scott Wendholt that actually starts on the powerful side, stays there for several minutes then slows down to reintroduce Ms. Frank to sing "Will you dance with me?/ Will you guide through the crowded floor?/ I will dance with you". The piece rides out on a wordless vocal over the whispering ensemble, a gentle finish to a splendid piece of music and entire album.
Exuberance is defined as "thequality of being full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness". "Exuberance", the album from the Christopher Zuar Orchestra, is all that and much more, downright joyous. Christopher Zuar is becoming one of the finest composers and arrangers of this time and the future bodes ever-so-well!
How does one use music to teach? Can a song or song cycle change someone's mind? Can art persuade a society to move forward? One imagines this to be a project in futility. Still, many artists over the past six decades have written songs that point to the issues surrounding climate change and here's one new recording that stands out for its creativity, intelligence, and musicality.
Photo: Luke Marantz
Composer, arranger, pianist, and educator Mike Holober has had a fascinating musical career. Classically trained, he's worked almost extensively with Big Bands. He's led the Westchester (NY) Jazz Orchestra as well as having worked overseas with the hr-Big Band (Frankfurt, Germany) and the WDR Big Band (Cologne, Germany). Holober teaches at the City College of New York and the Manhattan School of Music. On top of all that work, he's an active outdoorsman whether it be leading canoe trips or climbing mountains. He is the leader of a Quintet, of the octet Balancing Act, and co-leads a group with trumpeter Marvin Stamm. Holober also leads The Gotham Jazz Orchestra, a large ensemble he assembled two decades ago to perform large-scale works and whose influences are many and varied. It's that group that takes center stage on the composer's latest adventure, one that blends his love of sonic and stylistic possibilities with his love and concern for the outdoors to new heights (pun somewhat intended). It's also a way for him to add his voice to the growing of people in the US and abroad who are concerned with climate change.
"This Rock We're On: Imaginary Letters" (Palmetto Records) is an often dazzling, mesmerizing, and highly inventive two-CD collection of songs influenced by the lifework of six people who have shown us the beauty of the natural world as well have warned us of the damage that human beings can create through overuse, through destruction, and neglect. Not only has Mike Holober composed and arranged the music, he has also composed letters in the mindsets of Rachel Carson, Wendell Berry, Sigurd Olson, as well as Castleton Tower in Utah to Terry Tempest Williams, from a tree to Robin Wall Kimmerer, and from a child to the world. Holober also sets to music a poem from Ansel Adams to his wife Virginia Best Adams – the tenor solo on "Dear Virginia" is played by Virginia Mayhew, the Adams' granddaughter!
Photo: Luke Marantz
Seven of the 17 tracks feature vocals, the vast majority by Brazilian born Jamile Staevie Ayres who first recorded with Holober on his 2021 Sunnyside album "Don't Let Go" featuring his Balancing Act octet. The blend of her husky tones with the cello of Jody Redhage-Ferber on "Refuge" is quite lovely. Throughout the album, the words pull the listener into the musical multiverse the composer creates. On "Another Summer", Ms. Ayres sings in the voice of Rachel Carson to her closest friend Dorothy Freeman. Two tracks later is "Another Summer Epilogue" which is the imaginary response of Ms. Freeman. Both pieces are truly love letters to each other and the support Ms. Carson felt from her closest friend. The music Holober creates for these pieces have a classical feel strengthened by the counterpoint and responses of the cello.
There are plenty of powerful musical moments throughout the album. Chris Potter opens the album with an adventurous tenor sax solo on "Lay of the Land". I mentioned above Ms. Mayhew's work on "Dear Virginia" – the piece features her in an intimate conversation with trumpeter Marvin Stamm and pianist Holober. The splendid arrangement on the high-powered "Domes" (for Ansel Adams) suggests the influence of Bob Brookmeyer and features the powerful drumming of Jared Schonig, the smart vibes backing of James Shipp, snaky guitar lines from Nir Felder, and great solos from Ben Kono (alto sax) and Scott Wendholdt (trumpet). "Skywoman Falling" (for Robin Wall Kimmerer) opens with Ms. Redhage-Ferber's richly sonorous cello solo before opening into a medium tempo (inspired by Ms. Kimmerer's Native American heritage). As the piece moves forward, there are lovely moments of section playing plus fine solos from Stamm (flugelhorn) and Charles Pillow (alto flute). Note also the background wordless vocals from Ms. Ayres and James Shipp.
The album with the title song. The lyrics are first sung by Ronan Rigby, tenor saxophonist Jason Rigby's eight year-old son and then is passed on to James Shipp. After a short solo by Carl Maraghi (baritone sax), Ms. Ayres takes over the vocal with guitarist Felder responding beneath her. The tempo slows, young Mr. Rigby returns to sing the song title only and then his father's tenor sax flutters atop the Orchestra and the story comes to a close.
While the message in the lyrics is loud and clear, take your time to absorb the music that Mike Holober has created for the Gotham Jazz Orchestra. Also take the time to read Terry Tempest Williams' "real" letter in the album booklet. Swirl the words and music around in your senses, let the rhythms pull you along and the solos take you away. Do listen and perhaps you'll understand what needs to done for the survival of what the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft called the "Blue Marble".
Here's "Tower Pulse" with solos by Chris Potter (tenor sax) and Nir Felder (guitar):
PERSONNEL Mike Holober - composer, lyricist, piano, Fender Rhodes Jamile Staevie Ayres - voice Jody Redhage Ferber – cello Ronan Rigby – child voice on This Rock We’re On
Saxophones/Woodwinds Charles Pillow - alto, soprano, flute, alto flute, bass flute, clarinet Ben Kono - alto, soprano, flute, alto flute, clarinet (flute on Three Words for Snow) Jason Rigby - tenor, soprano, flute, clarinet Adam Kolker - tenor, soprano, flute, clarinet Chris Potter - tenor, clarinet (Lay of the Land, Tower Pulse) Virginia Mayhew - tenor (Dear Virginia, Dirt Lover’s Almanac) Carl Maraghi - baritone, bass clarinet
Trumpet/Flugelhorn Tony Kadleck Liesl Whitaker Marvin Stamm Scott Wendholt Stuart Mack (Skywoman Falling, Tower Pulse)
Trombones Matt McDonald Mark Patterson Alan Ferber (Erosion, Domes, Boundary Waters) Jason Jackson (Tides, Dirt Lover’s Almanac, Skywoman Falling) Sara Jacovino (Lay of the Land, Tower Pulse, This Rock We’re On) Jeff Nelson - bass trombone
Rhythm Section Nir Felder - guitar John Patitucci - bass, electric bass Jared Schonig - drums James Shipp - vibraphone, percussion, synth, voice
Pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, and educator Mike Holober has been involved with the New York City jazz scene since 1986. He has led or co-led groups, played with a slew of artists (from The Tim Ries Rolling Stone Project to saxophonist Jason Rigby's bands to jazz orchestras led by John Fedchock, Alan Ferber, Tony Kadleck, The WDR Big Band, the HR Big Band, Pete McGuinness's Jazz Orchestra, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). He's been on the faculty of The City College of New York since 1995 and teaches composition and arranging at The Manhattan School of Music plus conducts workshops around the country and the world. From 2007 - 2015, Holober served as Associate Director of the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop, where he taught with Director Jim McNeely. Among the groups he has led are the Westchester (NY) Jazz Orchestra, The Gotham Jazz Orchestra, a Quintet, and an octet known as Balancing Act plus the 45-member Gotham Wind Symphony.
The Gotham Jazz Orchestra has just issued its third album (and first since 2009). The two-CD set, "Hiding Out" (Zoho Records), contains two long suites (one, "Flow", is four-part, the other, the title track, in five-parts) and the opening track "Jumble" which was commissioned in 2008 by the US Army Jazz Nights. The final track, "Carminhos Cruzados", comes from the prolific mind of Antonio Carlos Jobim: There's actually two version with the final cut a "radio edit" of the first (it's only 79 seconds shorter than the first but cuts out some of trumpeter Marvin Stamm's parts). What stands out throughout the recording is Holober's excellent writing for the different sections, how the Orchestra creates a singular sound even though two different drummers split the four tracks equally, and the maturity of the compositions. One can intuit the influence of Bob Brookmeyer as solos grow organically out of the composed material.
The two suites are quite different. Both are inspired by the composer's retreats from the city: "Flow" sprang out of Holober's time at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire while the title track was inspired and composed on a journey to Wyoming. The four-part "Flow" opens with "Tear of the Clouds", a 14-minute section that takes its time to unfold, opening to a powerful tenor saxophone solo from Jason Rigby. Listen to how the piano and guitar (Jay Azzolina) support the saxophone while bassist John Hébert and drummer Jared Schonig spur Rigby forward. "Movement 2: Opalescence" has a handsome brass opening section with the flutes of Ben Kono, Billy Drewes, Adam Kolker, and Rigby coloring the thematic material. The solo section belongs to trumpeter Marvin Stamm but pay attention to the flutes and the fine piano accompaniment of the leader. The short (1:49) penny whistle "Interlude" (played by Kono) leads into "Movement 4: Harlem" another 14 minute track that opens with an unaccompanied alto saxophone solo from Billy Drewes. When the rhythm section enters, the music changes into a high-driving and swinging dance for the alto saxophonist to continue playing over. Holober introduces the next episode with his funky piano figure before the entire band dances in led by Schonig's dancing drums. Trumpeter Scott Wendholt steps out for a crisp solo over the rampaging drums with occasional responses from the brass and reeds. The music slows down and momentarily belongs to the Holober's piano before he leads the ensemble in for a full-throated closing section with a delightful give-and-take from the alto sax, clarinet, and trumpet.
The five-part "Hiding Out" suite may speak of an escape from the city especially in its gentle "Prelude" with chord created by the reeds as well as a lovely melody by Kono's piccolo and Stamm's trumpet – note the handsome brass arrangement near the end. "Movement 2: Compelled" opens with a gentle unaccompanied piano melody before the flutes and clarinet enter playing a melody that Holober continues to support underneath. Various voices share the melody lines as the piece grows ever-so-gently into a handsome guitar spot for Steve Cardenas. The sections swirl around him while the bass and drums (Mark Ferber) keep the rhythms flowing. As the ensemble fades out, Holober takes a musical journey first building a variation of the original melody and then dancing over the rhythm section. The band returns to reiterate its earlier statement before the piano leads the song out. "Movement 3: Four Haiku" is literally four short melodic statements sans solos, gentle phrases passed around the sections save for the bass and drums. Holober's short unaccompanied piano "Interlude", with the recording echoes of earlier melodies, leads the listener in to "Movement 5: "It Was Just The Wind"; the longest track on the recording at 18:30. The piano is alone for the opening 90 seconds until the rhythm section enters. Soon, the music is pouring out from the entire ensemble, melodic phrases shared by the reeds and brass until the alto saxophone of Jon Gordon steps out over the rhythm section. Tenor saxophonist Adam Kolker is next with a fiery statement over the very active horns. At the climax of his statement, the music takes a turn into a frisky rhythm and a delightful Fender Rhodes solo from the leader – the occasional melodic fills from the reeds and brass plus a repetitive bass clarinet figure support Holober until he really digs in. He switches to acoustic piano and the music changes as now the reeds and brass are featured. Cardenas returns to take the piece out, working with as well as apart from the sections.
The album "Hiding Out" contains many moments of beauty, of melodies that singi and harmonies that ring, with solos that have power and grace. Give this music the time it deserves to enter your mind (and heart) – its rewards are plentiful. Mike Holober & The Gotham Jazz Orchestra have made one splendid musical adventure!
Mike Holober - all tracks, Conductor, Leader, Piano/Fender Rhodes
Saxophone/Woodwinds Billy Drewes - alto, soprano, flute on Flow Jon Gordon - alto, soprano on Hiding Out, Jumble Dave Pietro - alto, soprano, flute, piccolo on Hiding Out, Jumble, Caminhos Cruzados Ben Kono - alto, soprano, flute, clarinet, piccolo, penny whistle on Flow, Caminhos Cruzados Adam Kolker - tenor, flute, alto flute, clarinet – all tracks Jason Rigby - tenor, flute, clarinet on Flow Charles Pillow - tenor, flute, clarinet, alto flute on Hiding Out, Jumble Steve Kenyon - baritone, bass clarinet on Hiding Out, Jumble Carl Maraghi - baritone, bass clarinet on Flow, Caminhos Cruzados
Trumpet/Flugelhorn Tony Kadleck - all tracks Liesl Whitaker - all tracks Scott Wendholt - all tracks James de LaGarza - on Tear of the Clouds, Harlem, Jumble Marvin Stamm - on Hiding Out, Opalescence, Caminhos Cruzados
Trombones Tim Albright - all tracks Mark Patterson - on Flow, Jumble, Caminhos Cruzados Alan Ferber - on Flow, Jumble, Caminhos Cruzados Bruce Eidem - on Hiding Out Pete McGuinness - on Flow Nathan Durham - bass trombone on all tracks
Guitar Steve Cardenas - on Hiding Out Jesse Lewis - on Jumble, Caminhos Cruzados Jay Azzolina - on Flow
Bass John Hebert - all tracks
Drums/ Percussion Mark Ferber - on Hiding Out, Caminhos Cruzados Jared Schonig - on Flow, Jumble Rogerio Boccato - on Hiding Out, Jumble,
Trombonist, vocalist, arranger, and composer Pete McGuinness, a native of West Hartford, CT, is a graduate of the famed Hall High School music program who went on the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Miami, then earned his graduate degree at the Manhattan School of Music. McGuinness studied with Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Album in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. He's been on the New York City jazz scene as long as his good friend Mike Holober, playing in the pianist's large ensembles as well as experiences with the Woody Herman Orchestra, Jim Cifelli's Nonet, and Bill Mobley's "SMOKE Big Band" plus recorded with the Maria Schneider Orchestra on "Concert in The Garden". Although he had been co-leader on several albums in the 1990s, it was not until 2007 that McGuinness signed with Summit Records and released his first Jazz Orchestra album.
His latest recording, "Along For The Ride" (Summit), is the third Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra album (and fourth for the label). The 17-member ensemble is comprised of New York City-based musicians, many of whom have worked together in groups led by Maria Schneider, Alan Ferber, Ryan Truesdell, and others. Powered by an excellent four-person rhythm section including pianist Holober and drummer Scott Neumann, the music that McGuinness has composed and/or arranged for this project gives everyone the opportunity to shine. The leader, whose previous album "Voice Like a Horn", featured a smaller ensembles as well as his fine trombone work and handsome tenor voice, keeps both under wraps much of the time (save for a wordless vocal on "You Must Believe in Spring", singing the lovely ballad "May I Come In", and unpacking his 'bone for a delightful solo on his original "Point of Departure", not the Andrew Hill composition).
McGuinness's program has a healthy balance of slower pieces with full-throated romps. The latter is represented on tunes such as the venerable standard "Put On a Happy Face." After the brass and reeds introduce the tune (notice the sly call-and-response before the melody is played), there are several delightful solos, especially Holober's exciting turn. Nat Adderley's "Jive Samba", which opens with a six-note phrase older listeners may recognize from "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In", is a playful dance – Holober switches to electric piano, a sound that hearkens back to Joe Zawinul's work with Cannonball Adderley's Quintet.
Two of the tracks, both McGuinness originals, exceed 11 minutes. "Old Roads" has great section work around a handsome melody replete with counterpoint and harmonies. Holober's piano solo stands out for his ability to tell a story while he's "singing". The piece is capped by a short but catchy drum solo and a trumpet outro that takes its time to reflect on the song. "Aftermath", the longest cut at 12:27, opens as an introspective ballad with the rhythm section providing the ethereal introduction before Dave Pietro plays the melody on soprano saxophone. It's his piece throughout even as the brass and reeds enter to raise the tension. Pietro responds and the piece moves out, loses its darker edge when he plays a danceable duet with Neumann's drums. When that ends, there's a delightful soprano sax round that leads to a short piano solo. The episodic nature of the piece, with several different mood shifts, all feature the soprano saxophonist. Near the close of the piece, he plays a beautiful, soulful, melody, that hearkens back to the ethereal opening.
"Along For The Ride" closes with "One For the Maestro", the leader's tribute to his Hall High Band Director Bill Stanley. It's the most traditional piece on the album, With a sound that is reminiscent of the Count Basie bands of the 1950s and 60s, serving as a coda to a most delightful "ride". Pete McGuinness has shown himself to be an excellent arranger and his original compositions on this album are among the most mature of his three+ decades. The Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra, now in its 13th year, makes music to savor!
Pete McGuinness: leader, composer, arranger, trombone;
Bill Mobley: trumpet; Jon Owens: trumpet; Tony Kadleck: trumpet; Chris Rogers: trumpet;
Dave Riekenberg: alto sax; Dave Pietro: alto and soprano sax; Rob Middleton: tenor sax; Mark Phaneuf: tenor sax; Tom Christensen: baritone sax;
Jeff Nelson: trombone; Matt Haviland: trombone; Bruce Eidem: trombone; Mark Patterson: bass trombone;
Mike Holober: piano; Paul Meyers: guitar; Andy Ealau: bass; Scott Neumann: drums.
Just received an email from educator, bandleader, arranger, and composer that his new book "Bob Brookmeyer: In Conversation with Dave Rivello" should be out in print by mid-August. Rivello funded his book through ArtistShare – writer's note: I happily supported the project being a fan of Mr. Brookmeyer's music since the 1982 release of "Make Me Smile" by the Mel Lewis & The Jazz Orchestra (why has this classic album never been reissued on CD?) Mr. Brookmeyer (1929-2011, pictured above) had a long career that hit some bumps along the road but really he always could play his valve trombone and piano and really hit his stride in the mid-1980s after shaking off his addictions. His songs and arrangements for various large ensembles, including his own New Art Orchestra, are among the most adventurous in contemporary music plus his work as an educator influenced a slew of bandleaders including Mr. Rivello, Darcy James Argue, Jim McNeely (who wrote the "Forward" in the new book), Maria Schneider, Mike Holober, Ayn Inserto, and so many more.
The author sat with his mentor over several days in January 2010 and recorded their discussions. He sent along a digital copy and, while I do not possess much musical intelligence, Mr. Brookmeyer's stories, some funny, some straight-forward, always truthful, are a pleasure to read. He talks about the influence of 20th Century Classical music on his later compositions, chats about the experiments he attempted in his arrangements, and about how happy he was teaching, composing, arranging, and recording into his 80s. There's plenty of technical talk that should please students as well as an understanding of the creative mind at work (and the plain fact that creativity is work, a lot of work, but for Brookmeyer – especially later in life – fun and rewarding).
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