Maria Schneider Orchestra

I'm running a little behind, but here's my run down of last night's music set. After filling our bellies with hakata style ramen, Sharon and I decided to walk it off, and headed down to 27th and Lexington to Jazz Standard where Maria Schneider's Orchestra plays every Thanksgiving weekend. We dropped the ball and did not make reservations early on, so there was only room left in the third set, starting at 11:30. Even that show was still packed, and we sat in a tiny table beside a column in between the two sections of the room. Although Sharon needed a coffee to wake up, I was pleased to see a few Belgian ales on the menu, and enjoyed a few Leffe Blonde (although I would have had the Leffe Brun if they carried it.)

After the last few nights of music, I was really hoping for a great set and I was not disappointed. Maria Schneider leads a great ensemble with strong soloists, and uses the band members in very interesting combinations to orchestrate her voicings. Now, I'll admit that my harmonic vocabulary is limited at best, but I can at least recognize the colours that her compositions utilize as unique. From what I understand she is considered the curent torch-bearer of the Gil Evans school of writing, which makes sense to me: taking his concepts of arranging and extending them into her own style.

I did notice that many of the pieces felt basically like vehicles (frameworks, maybe?) for the soloists, in that two or three band members are featured and the full ensemble playing is used as more a background and send-off rather than a full statement of a theme (head) upon which the improvisers extrapolate on.

The fine soloists included Frank Kimbrough on piano, Lage Lund on guitar, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet and Steve Wilson on soprano saxophone. However the standouts for me were Marshall Gilkes on trombone and Scott Robinson on baritone saxophone. When the trombonist stood up to play, I was very very pleasantly surprised to hear him play with a post-modern concept, which is rare (and very difficult) to do on that instrument. He executed lines and pattern-based ideas with command and accuracy, and incredible feat on trombone!

Funny coincidence: the bari player was also the leader of the band I saw at the Stone the night before. It was very interesting to hear the same musician in two very different situations. At the Stone he played a wide variety of instruments, including laser-triggered bell samples, car horns, sopranino saxophone and contrabass clarinet. At Jazz Standard he played an interesting and unique solo on bari, using timbre and altissimo range to develop the improvisation. It was certainly at odds with the other, more bebop/eighth note line-oriented approaches of his bandmates.

Another strength of the ensemble was hearing their dynamic range, especially when used as a device to shape the solo sections. Drummer Clarence Penn began the set barely touching the drums, but still grooving. I appreciated that sense of musicality in a large ensemble, where the potential for dynamics ranges from complete silence to screaming wall of sound. Most big bands stay in the loud to louder area, and rarely venture from it.

I'm happy that I got to hear at least one show that I really enjoyed while visiting NYC this time. It's been a learning experience coming hear and listening to a wide range of things, in quality and style, even within each band playing.