Vince Mendoza: All Blues
Musicians:
Vince Mendoza (leader), Nguyên Lê (guitar), Markus Stockhausen (trumpet), Claudio Puntin (reeds), Steffen Schorn (reeds), Frank Sackenheim (reeds), Lars Danielsson (bass), Peter Erskine (drums),
Arkady Shilkloper (French horn), Jon Sass (tuba), Ulla Van Daelen (harp), Christopher Dell (vibes)
.Arranged and conducted by Vince Mendoza. Composed by Miles Davis
.Recorded: Traumzeit Festival, Duisburg, Germany, no date given (CD released in 2008)
Rating: 96/100 (learn more)
Stuart Nicholson sang the praises of this CD on the jazz.com blog in November 2008. And for good reason. Blauklang features some of the most creative writing for large jazz ensemble in recent memory. If you enjoy Maria Schneider or continue to listen to the old Gil Evans-Miles Davis collaborations, you'll want this CD. Like Evans, Mendoza knows how to shape orchestral colors that are more sound textures than harmonies. The intro is a minimalist buzzing, a postmodern nature walk, that eventually settles into that perhaps-too-familiar "All Blues" vamp. Familiar, but only briefly . . . Mendoza now unpacks his own bag of tricks, fake modulations, oddball counterpoint, surprising chords, novel mix-and-match instrumental combinations. Not just this track, but the entire CD is a real pleasure. Credit must be given to Nguyên Lê and Markus Stockhausen (son of the famous composer), but especially to Vince Mendoza, who can no longer be typecast as a behind-the-scenes orchestrator of commercial projects for singers. On the basis of this release, Mendoza has moved into a select group, and deserves recognition as one of the finest living jazz arrangers.
Reviewer: Ted Gioia
Tags: all blues · big band · miles davis covers
I heard this version of All Blues on Capital Public Radio in Sacramento two nights in a row but never caught the artist's name, and I have not been able to get it out of my head since. It is hauntingly beautiful. It's amazing how different but wonderful it is from Miles' original on Kind of Blue, through simple things like how the horn players attack the notes. I ordered the CD and can't wait to hear it all. Thanks for helping me track it down.