Customer Reviews

The Brass Orchestra

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the most creative jazz cd's I have seen in a long time. It has such interesting beats and tempos. It is very difficult to explain, the rythem is often the melody that can be as simple as 1 or 2 notes. It has many non traditional sounds but is not so into getting wierd stuff that it can't do the basics. The orchestra is concert hall filling. If you have never gotten a brass orchestra jazz cd this is the one. I have tried a couple others but this is by far the best.

A truly great cd. JJ Johnson the greatest trombone player ever(arguably)records this cd a few years before his death. There are noticeable intonation problems once and a while but I'm not complaining. He still has that wonderful sound as well as his artistic solo ideas.-As a trumpet player myself I was very happy to see that Jon Faddis was in the group as well as Lew Soloff(I think). Faddis though is a great section player, as well as soloist. His highnote playing is on most of the tracks. Faddis is though I think besides maybe Arturo sandoval who can actually play music in that high range. Warm full tone in all registers especially the high register.-An excellent orchestra, an excellent cd. Reminds me of the Miles Davis ones(Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess). Buy this cd!

Five MAXIMIZED Stars!! If brass orchestras are your thing, this is the one to get! J.J. Johnson, arguably the premier jazz trombonist of all time, with an outstanding group of brass players, wonderful compositions, and thrilling arrangements. Happily in this recording, probably the last before his death, he looks back to some of his most scintillating compositions. All the way back to "El Camino Real" from the old RCA recording "J.J." and to the Miles Davis recording that introduced us to J.J.'s "Enigma", one of the most beautiful ballads in jazz. The brass orchestra is augmented by piano, bass, drum, and harp. Major players are trumpeters Jon Faddis & Lew Solof, Howard Johnson, Robin Eubanks, Joe Wilder, Eddie Henderson, and the rhythm section of Renee Rosnes, Rufus Reed, and Victor Lewis, plus a flotilla of french horns, euphoniums, flugelhorns, trombones, tubas, and trumpets. Conducted by Slide Hampton and Tom Evertt. J.J. is the composer and arranger of most songs.

Pieces D'Resistance begin with "Enigma", a performance for the ages, a true 'Tour De Force', with the song being turned inside out and upside down over turbulent 'sheets of sound' of the swirling brass section. It's great how they use echos of "Fascinating Rhythm", integrated with the song's chord changes. This is a thrilling performance that will stand up over the years, demanding repeated listenings.

"Why Indianiapolis..." is another great performance. J.J. and super sax man Dan Faulk are front and center with Faulk leading the proceedings. HIs solo is AMAZING as he careens around the chord changes like a rock skipping over a pond: twisting, turning, flipping upside down and righting himself again. It's quite a fabulous and inventive improvisational performance, with J.J. goading him on throughout.

This CD is absolutely loaded, with 14 fully developed arrangements and outstanding performances by all soloists. I love JJ's muted theme statement and solo on "Wild in the Wind", with a slow tempo that takes us into the mid-day storm and out into the sunlight again. "Cross Currents" and "Canonn for Bela" are fabulous performances. All ends with Miles' "Swing Spring" the brilliantly performed 'cat and mouse' song that ended the "J.J." album of three decades ago. A 'must have' for the essential jazz collection and it gets my Highest Recommendation. Five Stars are not enough. I'd give this SIX.

J.J. Johnson is a trombone wizard. It is the best Jazz Brass music I have ever bought. END

To those who like large ensemble jazz, this recording is a must.

Once again, nobody is talking about this but it is one of the finest recordings of jazz that has been recently made.

I just received and played this. J.J. Johnson uses the many styles here, marches, swing, even some avant gaurd shadings, to work the nuances of the brass.

The trombone has a more rounded sound than a sax or trumpet, and Johnson leads all the brass here towards subtlety. There are solos, but each instrument has a buffered tone, alone or with the group.


This works particularly well on some of the slow, dark pieces, where Johnson keeps the sound fluid, as if the brass parts are wet paint, different colors, poured together. At times it recalls the arrangements Gil Evan's did for Miles on Sketches of Spain

The whole album is not like this, but even when the pieces go mid or up tempo, the brass maintains a loose, interactive style. It is hard, at least early, to nail where this music is going--and that is good.

Why listen to music that stands out for genre when you can listen to that which stands out for complexity.

The reason so many reviewers preface their comments with stipulations requiring big brass orchestras to be "your thing" or for "those who like..." large ensemble brass, is that many people are overwhelmed by the weight of the full force that so many horns can deliver. This session is so well written, played and orchestrated, that even the most bombastic tracks must be admired for the sheer skill of the performance. Even if you're not into a flock of screaming trumpets, there's plenty here that won't take your head off. Tracks 6-10 are almost like a Suite of songs that stand in lush contrast to several of the earlier pieces, and "Canonn For Bela" is worth the purchase price alone. But if ear piercing notes aren't your cup of tea, and push you out of your "Comfort Zone" (undoubtedly the worst for sensitive ears), then stay away from "Gingerbread Boy," "Why Indianapolis, Why Not Indianapolis?," "Horn Of Plenty," and "Ballade." An overall astounding performance from a rather elderly J.J. Johnson, that can't be beat.