Maria Schneider - Sky Blue [Standard Edition] CD -(Wallet style packaging with one booklet)

Multiple Grammy Award winner in both jazz and classical categories, Maria Schneider has a unique enveloping big band sound wrapped around rich brass harmonies, lyrical yet complex reed and horn solos, and the added timbre of accordion and guitar. Her Orchestra in this particular session has guest soloist Ingrid Jensen on trumpet and flugelhorn, heard on The Pretty Road. Schneider had simultaneous training in jazz and classical music, and her jazz arrangements reflect classical structural development; yet she is open to other influences, such as world music and its different rhythms. Her experience in Peru led to learning 12/8, 5/4, and 3/8 meters, which led to the second track Aires de Lando. The multi-reedman Scott Robinson tackles the ever changing beats with aplomb on clarinet. Tenor saxophonist Rich Perry's slow, reflective solo is featured in the following piece. The 22-minute Cerulean Skies, which itself was a Grammy winner, highlights work by saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Charles Pillow as well as accordionist Gary Versace. Like Olivier Messiaen, birds have a role in the composition, and some of the musicians mimic them by voice or with their instruments or with whistles, but a recording of a cerulean warbler is heard at the end. Vaughan Williams composed the delightful Lark Ascending, and in this musical essay on ornithology, Schneider offers her take on a flight of another bird. Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza adds vocalise. Sky Blue has the soprano saxophone of Steve Wilson to close out the album. Special mention should go to the Orchestra's usual sidemen Clarence Penn on drums, Frank Kimbrough on piano, and Jay Anderson on bass. I recently attended a concert of the Orchestra and their clever ornamentation and support were important as spice in a meal. Schneider's music is not Third Stream as Gunther Schuller had envisioned, nor is it free jazz (like Oregon and Esbjörn Svensson Trio); rather her music is firmly jazz but with classical sensitivity. Ellington would understand. Listening to this album is as if snuggling under a warm blanket and enjoying a natural landscape.

Jazz is often thought of, and many times is..."Play the head, then solo, then play the head again going out." There's nothing wrong with that, after all the formula has survived for decades. But Jazz can and does go beyond that, even in a small group setting. And sometimes it goes beyond that in a large group setting, but not always. Maria Schneiders arrangements for Jazz Orchestra go way beyond that. She uses a vast array of instrumental sounds in very creative ways to bring familiar, but new sounds to your ears. And it's not just a musical exercise, this music speaks to your body and your soul. Just like Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, Stan Kenton and others, the orchestra is her instrument. And like the aforementioned composers/arrangers/band leaders, she writes parts for people, not instruments. She knows the players strengths and writes those into her arrangements. The soloists are wonderful. They know how to play in an orchestral setting and still be very creative.It has been said that Jazz is an American form of Classical Music. This idea is not new, but if you look through the history of Jazz, you will find very few groups (large or small) that execute this idea so well. Maria Schneider's Jazz Orchestra does that. I'm a new fan of Maria Schneider, but an adamant one. This is great music. I believe those who are deeply immersed in Jazz will love it (if they give it a chance). I think Classical Music fans will love it as well. I believe that anyone who listens will find a new art form to enrich their lives. This is great Jazz, this is great music!Listen intently, and enjoy.

3 1/2 Stars. Jazz Times (magazine) rated this the #2 jazz album of 2007, ahead of acclaimed recordings by McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, and others. It was also rated ahead of several excellent big band recordings that year, including one I especially like by Charles Tolliver's group. (Jazz Times' # 1 album of 2007 was the late Michael Brecker's PILGRIMAGE.) So, although I was not familar with Maria Schneider, I had fairly high expectations upon ordering this CD. (It was also mildly exciting to order it because of its limited availability-not in your local stores; only through a "fan-based" website.)The music IS lovely and often interesting (especially track 2, with its unusual and appealing Latin rhythm). The arrangements and orchestrations are very good, and there's some nice soloing by several different musicians. At times, the music harkens back to Gil Evans; occasionally, the lush colors and sonorities even remind me of John Scofield's fine album QUIET. Not infrequently, though, I detect a "new age" influence--and it's not just the many bird calls. (Schneider, in fact, alludes to a new age influence in her liner notes.) Personally, I don't care much for the new age thing (I find it a trifle boring), but if you're OK with it, you might really like this music. I'm lukewarm.

It was good. Thanks.