Customer Reviews

Labor of Love

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

 

 

I would like to begin with by asking you to go through a little exercise with me. I would ask that you shut your eyes for a minute and imagine these things that i'm getting ready to mention to you. Here goes! I would like for you to dream of what makes a band sound good. How about the arrangements performed? How about the repertoire used by the band? Lastly, how about how the band took these things and knitted them together to where they seemed to fit perfectly?

Well this band had some good arrangements to play. They also had a pretty good repertoire to offer. And finally in my opinion they knitted it all together fairly well. The out come of all this is a decent sounding cd.

The only dark side I can see with this project was that on some of the tunes I didn't thing they sounded quite right. On these tunes it appeared that the emphasis was focused on heavy improvision. I feel like this improvising ruined what could have been an outstanding cd.

I think this cd is one that you should buy despite these little minor things that I wrote about.

CMJO Leader Lenny King makes no bones about it. He looks to Stan Kenton and his
great arrangers for his musical inspiration. The group plays in the style of the Kenton
groups, not in imitation, but more in admiration. This album features arrangements by
Bill Holman, Gene Roland, Marty Paich and Lennie Niehaus. It also has a few good
orchestrations by members of the band, like Kirk Garrison. Whatever they are
performing, the outfit specializes in the same tight, disciplined ensemble work (listen
to "Just Friends") and the high-flying solos that characterized Kenton's various
aggregations.

The session kicks off with a comparatively calm Gene Roland "Reuben's Blues" with a
bass intro by Anthony Brock and catchy solos by Kirk Garrison on trumpet and Frank
Catalano on tenor sax. But things speed up rather quickly. "Samba Da Yo" takes us
into the realm of Latin rhythms with composers Catalano on tenor and Hary Kozlowski
on trombone taking turns at center stage. "Send in the Clowns" recalls those Kenton
arrangements which some called pretentious and others, classic. Whatever your
disposition, no one can deny the brilliance of the Maynard Ferguson like trumpet of
Kirk Garrison on this piece. Kenton penchant for solemn arrangements is represented
with a beautiful rendition of "My Old Flame" with Bryan Murray's tender tenor
contrasting with the boisterous brass section. Perhaps the most elaborate, high
flying, brass cacophony of all Kenton's recordings was Bill Holman's arrangement of"
Malaguena". CMJO's performance of this arrangement is as heart stopping as the
original. Kenton's foray into modern jazz is remembered with a highly improvised
version of "Out of Nowhere" featuring the dissonant tenor sax of Frank Catalano.
Leader Lenny King is wise put in a couple of breaks from the pyrotechnics by having
wife Joni King step in with some relaxing vocals on "When Sunny Gets Blue" and a
nice up tempo, but not frantic, "All of Me".

All of the members of this aggregation are experienced in big band work, either
professionally or academically or a combination of both. Some have played with
groups headed by Maynard Ferguson and Frank Mantooth. Others teach in successful
university jazz programs. Bryan Murray is a graduate of Miles Osland's Jazz Program
at the University of Kentucky and has appeared on several of Osland's albums. Kent
Lawson, Kirk Garrison and Mark Corey are also members of Chicago's Skyliners Band.

While some of the charts are getting on in age, the performances by this group are
fresh, dazzling and exciting. Labor of Love will satisfy the appetites of Kenton and
jazz orchestra fans alike. Highly recommended.

Track Listing: Reuben's Blues; Send in the Clowns; Just Friends; My Old Flame; All of
Me*; My One and only Love; Take the "A" Train; When Sunny Gets Blue*; Samba Da
Yo; A Little Minor Booze; Out of Nowhere; Malaguena

Personnel: Lenny King - Leader; Chris Sarlas, Gary Parker - Alto Sax; Ken Kistner -
Alto & Baritone Sax; Bryan Murray, Frank Catalano - Tenor Saxes; Kent Lawson -
Baritone Sax; Kirk Garrison, Jim Peterson, Nate Walcott, Ben Clark, Randy Kulik -
Trumpet; Hary Kozlowski, Mark Corey, Michael Joyce, Steve Larkin - Trombone; John
McAllister - Bass Trombone/Tuba; Mike Flack - Piano; Anthony Brock - Bass; Michael
Fiala -Drums; Al Keeler, Jerry Steinhilber - Latin Percussion; Joni King - Vocalist*

By Jack Bowers

The Chicago Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra's first recording (Live and Screamin', a concert date from October-November '97) was so impressive the thought here was that only a "labor of love" could possibly equal or surpass it. Well, the millennium has arrived, and with it the CMJO's Labor of Love, and if the band's second excursion can't eclipse the flash and excitement of Screamin', it comes close often enough to dissuade any reproval. As usual, the CMJO's repertoire is conspicuously inspired by the Stan Kenton library with splendid charts written for Kenton's orchestra by Gene Roland ("Reuben's Blues"), Dave Barduhn ("Send in the Clowns"), Marty Paich ("My Old Flame"), Lennie Niehaus ("All of Me"), Willie Maiden ("A Little Minor Booze") and Bill Holman ("Out of Nowhere," "Malaguena"). The session's midsection accommodates tasteful arrangements by John Kornegay ("Just Friends"), Tom Matta ("My One and Only Love"), Don Menza ("Take the 'A' Train"), Jerry Nowak ("When Sunny Gets Blue") and the CMJO's superb lead trumpeter, Kirk Garrison (Frank Catalano / Hary Kozlowski's "Samba da Yo"). Personnel has changed to some extent; gone from the earlier recording are such standout soloists as trumpeters Joey Tartell and Terry Connell, tenor saxophonist Mark Colby, trombonist John Mose and pianist Don Stille. Stepping into their shoes in commendable fashion are Garrison, tenors Catalano and Bryan Murray, trumpeters Ben Clark and Randy Kulik, altos Chris Sarlas and Gary Parker, trombonist Kozlowski and young pianist Mike Flack (Garrison, Catalano, Kulik, Kozlowski and Sarlas also performed on Live and Screamin'). Drummer Michael Fiala is a first-rate dep for Charlie Braugham and Bob Chmel, who shared those duties on Live and Screamin'. Murray is showcased on "Just Friends," Kozlowski on "My One and Only Love," rising star Catalano on "Out of Nowhere." Another bright new addition is Mrs. King, vocalist Joni, whose lucid soprano is heard to good advantage on "All of Me" and "When Sunny Gets Blue" (with marvelous support from the ensemble on both numbers). The CMJO opens with a clear-cut winner, Roland's shuffling "Reuben's Blues" (whose walking intro by bassist Anthony Brock paves the way for persuasive ad-libs by Garrison and Catalano). In a similar vein is Maiden's "Minor Booze," whose understated but effective solos are by Flack, Parker and Kulik with searing high-note passages courtesy of Garrison. The arrangements of "My Old Flame," "Send in the Clowns" and "Malaguena" are widely seen as classics, while Menza's dynamic treatment of Billy Strayhorn's "'A' Train" (fueled by Flack's romping piano intro) hurtles along that track as well. Catalano shows on "Nowhere" that he's going somewhere (while the CMJO shows it has power to spare), and Murray proves an able counterpart on "Friends." Although nothing can match the heart-stopping spontaneity of a live recording, the CMJO has fashioned a remarkably colorful studio session with enough sparkle and fire to earn the admiration of even the most demanding big-band enthusiast.

After hearing the samples, albeit mono, low sample rate versions of stereo mixes, I found them sonically inferior. The ambient sound lacked charm. I wonder if the band new they were being recorded. In each case, I heard intonation rubs and or klinkers by one or more players, particularly the trumpets. If they accepted those performances, they are either naive or the recording budget prohibited retakes. And, I'm sure if the singer had her way, she would never have allowed the vocal version on the realaudio sample to be scrutinized by a large audience. II know she could have done better. It's probably acceptable live, but for a cd version, it's beneath the integrity of the band members themselves. A band like this should be recorded with the quality that will best represent the phenomenon that they create. I don't think it happened here.