West Coast Alternative

Dan Buegeleisen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Corridor
• ASIN: B00005AU5K
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #846,668 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. West Coast Alternative

2. My Shining Hour

3. It Never Entered My Mind

4. Goodbye and Forever Miles

5. Cavaradossi

6. Mr. B's Blues

7. Rules of the Game

8. The Sanctity of a Sacred African River

9. I Wish I Knew

10. 75 Beats Per Minute

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Re: New and Fresh, April 19, 2001

By 

John Asti (Cranford, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: West Coast Alternative (Audio CD)

Dan Bugelisen's first CD is such a fresh new voice in big band writing since Bob Minzter, Maria Schneider and Jim McNeely. What I really love is his re-working of "My Shining Hour" with Kitty Margolis doing a great job with the vocal. Its soooo nice to hear a great tune, but with a completely different twist. The counter saxophone lines are just ripped off by the sax section and a really great solo by Mike Zilber, who plays with this sophisticated abandonment very reminsent of Bob Berg. Great trumpet solos by Dan and Chuck McKinnon. The ensemble is tight throughout all the tunes, and there is a wide variety of different grooves which not only will keep the average listener's ear, but its hip enough harmonically to keep a musicians ear. This a great CD and I would recommend it to all.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fresh Approach to the Large Jazz Ensemble, April 26, 2001

By 

David F. Hemphill (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: West Coast Alternative (Audio CD)

Dan Buegeleisen's superb first release heralds the arrival of a true innovator in jazz orchestration. In a work that spans the musical languages of Gil Evans, hip hop, bebop, and Miles Davis, Buegeleisen gives new life to a genre that has often become uncreative. Despite the title ("West Coast Alternative"). Buegeleisen's work (thankfully) avoids the boring LA studio sound of Bob Mintzer, Don Schamber and others. The fresh use of hip hop and other Afro-caribbean grooves enlivens Buegeleisen's complex harmonic conceptions. "Goodbye and Forever Miles" is a masterpiece, conjuring images of the different phases of Miles' career in its shifting moods. "Cavaradossi" is equally powerful, starting with a pallete of brass colors that gradually shifts into a straight-ahead groove. Big band charts need no longer be boring and repetitive--a new voice is on the scene--Dan Buegeleisen's--and it is an intelligent, compelling voice. Get this album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A trumpet heralding a new era in big band music!!, April 18, 2001

By 

Kevin Morris (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: West Coast Alternative (Audio CD)

Dan Buegeleisen brings his horn, and his original compositions and arrangements to the table for the Carma Big Band to interpret. Two outstanding vocalists, Kitty Margolis and Clairdee, add their flair to several of the tunes, but it's really the compositions that distinguish these tracks from anything else on the jazz scene today. They are a skillful and soulful blend of the foundation laid down by the greats of music with the rhythmic structures of the latest sounds heard on the streets. The moods gyrate from track to track in a rhythm of their own, making this CD one of the most unique listening experiences in recent memory. As a resident of Denver, my only regret is that I live so far from the city that has hatched such a great jazz scene - Dan Buegeleisen, the Carma Big Band, Kitty Margolis, and Clairdee clearly state that jazz continues to flourish in San Francisco.