Serendipity 18

Bob Florence | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 9, 1999)
• Original Release Date: February 23, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mama Records
• ASIN: B00000I4ZS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,927 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A master of sonorities, September 9, 1999

By 

Dennis M. Clark (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serendipity 18 (Audio CD)

Bob Florence's new music and arrangements for this album beautifully celebrate the excellent musicians in his band. It's amazing how he handles so many instruments playing at once without producing a big-band-smear sound; instead, the extremely active counterpoint of the various parts continually surprises the listener, and the result is very exciting, brightly-colored music. The title track is especially compelling.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Big Band Composer Alive Today!!!!, September 26, 2000

By 

Philip J Marrow (Lombard, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serendipity 18 (Audio CD)

This album and Bob Florence's previous album "Earth" are two of the greatest Big Band albums of the nineties. This man is the same league as Ellington, Kenton and Basie. The Limited Edition Band is one of the best I have ever heard. They play with passion and a discipline that is simply marvelous. Listen to Stanley Turrentine's compostion "Sugar", especially the way the brass and the reeds play off against one another. "Bimbosity" is pure genius, both in the playing and in composition. This piece would make Benny Goodman dance--there is one musical surprise after another in this composition. You cannot overlook the piano playing of Florence, it is not sparse nor is it overblown. It fits perfectly within each composition. Every serious Big Band enthusiast must have this album in his/her music collection!! You will find yourself searching the internet for other Bob Florence recordings after listening to this one. I give this 10 stars!!!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK Stuff, But Just OK, April 29, 2002

By 

Steven Fernow "jazzyskier" (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serendipity 18 (Audio CD)

Bob Florence is an eminently listenable composer and arranger, and on all of the discs of his that I own he produces at least one show stopper. My admiration and respect for his talent notwithstanding, however, I can't say that I've ever listened to any of his work without grabbing the remote to move to the next track fairly quickly. There is a good deal of excitement in his stuff, but that derives more from energy and drive than it does from inventiveness and sensitivity. The logical comparison is to one of his friends, Bill Holman, to whom he dedicated the song "Willis" on his "Earth" album. I liked the title cut, "Sugar," and "Evelyn," but there is not the same sort of interplay of well-textured layers of sound that one feels in the work of Bill Holman, who manages to sustain my interest in the most diverse of his choices.
Don't take my carping too much to heart--he is enjoyable, and I might be too sensitive to what he doesn't do instead of listening for what he does do, which is respectable and noteworthy. If you want to get to know this fellow, "Earth" and "With All the Bells and Whistles" are better places to start.