[Dixielandjazz] Jazz & Classical

[Steve barbone]

Nice to see Classical Composers mixing in a little blues. (See paragraph 4)
Maybe not totally successful, but note that some of the clarinetists were on
target. Hey Randy F, why not get your Symphony Orchestra to perform this
work? (with you soloing in the jazz improv parts)

(Below is a snip from the review)

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

February 10, 2005 - NY TIMES
CLASSICAL MUSIC REVIEW - ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - By ALLAN KOZINN

Hints of Jazz Rub Shoulders With Another Century

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra split its program at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday
evening between new music and Mendelssohn, a juxtaposition that was every
bit as strange as it sounds.

For anyone seeking symmetry, the best that can be offered is that the first
half opened with the world premiere of a work for the orchestra's winds
(with bass and percussion) and the second half opened with a decade-old work
for string orchestra that had never been heard in New York. Mendelssohn, for
full orchestra, filled out both halves. As programming symmetry goes, that's
a stretch. 

The world premiere - Orpheus's first commissioned work - was the Concerto
for Winds, subtitled "Some Other Blues," by Daniel Schnyder. Mr. Schnyder, a
Swiss saxophonist who works in classical music and jazz, was apparently
hoping to have it both ways by writing a flexible jazz-tinged score for a
classical ensemble.

It was a bit of a mess. On Mr. Schnyder's end of the transaction, the piece
seemed to wander among various jazz or symphonic jazz styles, from 1950's
Bernstein to 1920's Gershwin, with blues and big band references wafting
through along the way. Still, in a tight, polished performance, even a work
this stylistically diffuse might have made a strong effect. But Orpheus's
performance was uneven. Some of the players - the clarinetists, most notably
- clearly had a feeling for what Mr. Schnyder was after, and their solo
lines sang nicely. But the ensemble as a whole was too leaden to match them.