6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Viennese Density, March 5, 2005
This review is from: Claus Ogerman Featuring Michael Brecker (Audio CD)
Ogerman is a long-standing arranger of jazz/pop albums, and can always be counted on for great harmonic inventiveness. Like other Viennese musicians of the past, such as Erich Korngold, or even Gustav Mahler, his ouvre is firmly rooted in the classic Germanic harmonic tradition, and like them (and others like Richard Strauss) he continually stretches the harmonic envelope as far as possible. Michael Brecker is one of the few of today's younger players who can make musical sense, on the spot, of charts as dense and complex as these. It is exhilerating to listen to and follow, but eventually, I find myself growing weary of trying to divine a harmonic pattern or shape to some of this. At the same time, some of the charts also fall into a TOO-predictable "two bars of this chord, two bars of that chord, two bars of the next...." etc, with no real overarching shape to give it meaning. But if you like harmony as rich as a "Sacher-torte", you'll love this. And it's always great to hear Michael Brecker play. No question: he's the best there is.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning, July 29, 2011
I first became aware of Claus Ogerman when I fell in love with the album "Bill Evans With Symphony Orchestra" . So when I saw this CD I couldn't get it fast enough. Arrangers are the unsung heros of the music biz, so it's great to see him showcased on his own. I love Brekers work here too. Highly recommended.
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