Customer Reviews

West Coast Alternative

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I loved the album. I found the rhythms most interesting, especially on "Goodbye and Forever Miles". There are some very good big bands out there, but to me not much new ground is being broken and so I applaud and support albums like Buegeleisen's. There is considerable variety and creativity in his approaches to the tunes and some very fine musicianship to boot. If Big Band is to survive and perhaps even prosper, it's going to be in the hands of guys like Buegeleisen who can give us a fresh take on the uniqueness of this musical style.

A wonderful cd. I hear Mingus,Thad Jones,Gerald Wilson,Gil Evans,blended with motowm funk and new hiphop grooves,with excelent vocals by Kitty Margolis and Clairdee. A rich and tasteful smorgasbord of big band writing and arranging.

This is an awesome debut by a very talented composer/arranger/ performer. A confluence of styles, from bebop to hip-hop; richly interwoven, intricate yet powerful, bouyant, passionate. There are some very moving moments; my favorite is the harmon mute at the end of "Goodbye and forever Miles". Listen to what isn't there, and ask yourself why. Then there's the guitar at the beginning of Sacred African River. Sunlight dancing on a mountain stream. This album is full of surprises, a true masterwork.

I really like this CD -- Dan Buegeleisen is taking the big band places where it's wanted to go but never been. Genteel intelligent hip hop, great Afro grooves. And he's avoided the Interminable Over-the-Top Solo syndrome. The solos carry the arrangements forward but are just one ingredient in the stew, one color in his pallette. Sonics are very nice and warm, not the heavily compressed sheen that seems to bedevil a lot of modern big band recordings. Buy it and enjoy it with, oh, I don't know, say a medium-ripe Stilton on black bread and a pint of amber ale. Maybe Gordon-Biersch. No onions.

I heard Dan's new CD. There are some nice songs on there, like Cavaradossi, but songs like Rules Of The Game and My Shining Hour seem to go absolutely no where. My Shining Hour, listen to the saxaphone parts. It is too busy. I think this is a good intro for Dan, and perhaps his arranging skills will get better.