One of
the most exciting aspects of the current jazz scene is the resurgence of the
jazz orchestra -- ensembles that make use of expanded size in order to explore
bold instrumental sonorities, unexpected musical colors and arresting sonic
textures while joyously mixing and matching musical genres. Critical buzz is
all well and good in calling attention to these new big bands, but the solid
proof of a vital musical renaissance must come in the form of compelling
recorded works. Enter JC Sanford's Views >From the Inside (to be released May
20th on Whirlwind Recordings), an album bursting with ambition and invention
that confirms that the promise of the new has actually come to fruition.
Composer,
arranger, conductor and trombonist, Sanford employs the resources of fifteen
outstanding players (including such celebrated contemporary stylists as
trumpeter Taylor Haskins, vibraphonist Tom Beckham and percussionist Satoshi
Takeishi) in an ensemble that draws on such unconventional jazz band
instrumentation as French horn, accordion, tuba, English horn, oboe, bassoon,
violin and cello. Utilizing the diversity of his orchestra, Sanford is able to
create sparkling music that references the jazz tradition while also
ingeniously incorporating classical, pop and world music sources. His mode of
operation could be called selective expansion. "In order to get a wider
variety of sound, I needed both more and less in the orchestra," Sanford
says. "I may avoid having full horn sections as in a traditional big band,
but I use musicians like Ben Kono, Chris Bacas, Dan Willis and Kenny Berger who
play multiple instruments, thus giving the band a wide variety of colors."
Calling
on creative capital gained from his studies with the legendary arrangers Bob
Brookmeyer and Jim McNeely, Sanford makes pointed use of traditional swing
conventions, yet just as frequently turns them on their head, tweaking these
same conventions by employing daring compositional gambits that endow each
performance with freshness and vision.
"I'm always trying to turn that corner that isn't expected,"
Sanford says, "I was trained in the conventions of swing and big band
arranging and I love that idiom, but I don't want to stay in that zone. I'm
aiming to avoid the predictable, to find different colors and textures."
Yet for all its inventiveness, Views From the
Inside is also an album stocked with notable melody and inviting
performances. Sanford, inspired by such
diverse influences as Richard Strauss, Charles Ives, Stevie Wonder and Billy
Joel, makes certain that a sure sense of song and expressive drama is never
lost amongst the intriguing tonal colors and surprising harmonic and rhythmic
structures. "Views From the Inside," "Robins In Snow"
(written as part of a new score for the 1925 silent film, Ben-Hur, and featuring
the bandleader on trombone) "Brownieland" (spotlighting the
accordionist Jacob Garchick), "Sunset Park, Sunset Park" and
"Sky. Good. " are each marked by lyricism, shifting moods and a touch
of mystery, while "Your Word Alone", "An Attempt At
Serenity," "Verrazano Bikeride" and "2nd & 7th"
brim with exceptionally cohesive ensemble work and forcefully expressive
improvisations, while consistently maintaining strong melodic interest.
Five of
the album's twelve tracks are "Brooklyn Vignettes," originally
composed as a suite for the American Music Center, pieces that reflect the
varied character of the New York borough in which Sanford composed the album
and where he currently makes his home. Three compact pieces feature duets
between Taylor Haskins and the innovative percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, whom
Sanford credits with much of the album's distinctive flavor. "When I give
improvisers space, it's their space," Sanford says, "But everyone has
to ask the same questions: 'Why am I doing what I'm doing? Does the music
demand my contribution?' In the end, you have to allow the music to tell you
where to go."
Sanford
studied at the University of Northern Iowa and the New England Conservatory
where he earned a D.M.A. in Jazz Studies. After relocating to New York, he
became involved with the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop under the direction of
Manny Albam and Jim McNeely. Currently, in addition to leading his own
orchestra, Sanford conducts the twice-Grammy-nominated John Hollenbeck Large
Ensemble, the Alice Coltrane Orchestra featuring Ravi Coltrane and Jack
DeJohnette, the Joel Harrison 19, and the Alan Ferber Nonet With Strings.
Sanford also curates the influential Size Matters series at the Tea Lounge in
Brooklyn, which has presented close to 60 big bands over the past four years. Among
the jazz and classical artists who have performed Sanford's compositions and
arrangements are John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Lew Soloff, Andrew Russo and
the Swedish Wind Ensemble. Sanford collaborated with composer David Schumacher
in the Schumacher/Sanford Sound Assembly jazz orchestra, and is also a founding
member (with Darcy James Argue and Joseph Phillips) of the composer's
federation, Pulse.
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