Before their
paths ever crossed, Simon Pilbrow and Brent Fischer had spent nearly four
decades building upon their musical endeavors, Pilbrow forging a corpus of
musical compositions, and Fischer pursuing an impressive resume and
accumulating accolades, both within their respective circles. Pilbrow was very
active in the Melbourne, Australia jazz scene and a composer of nearly 200
pieces, some of which are held in the U.S. Library of Congress as part of the
Gerry Mulligan Collection.
Fischer,
meanwhile, had established himself as an acclaimed bassist, orchestral
percussionist, composer and arranger -- first under the tutelage of his father,
renowned composer/arranger Dr. Clare Fischer, then under his own auspices and
as the keeper of his father's legacy. With nearly 40 years in the music
industry, Fischer has acquired credits on more than 30 million albums, writing
for esteemed artists such as Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, D'Angelo, Toni
Braxton, Elvis Costello and many more. He has received many accolades including
winning a GRAMMY® Award for best Latin Jazz album and a GRAMMY® nomination for
Record of the Year.
The two were
unknown to one another, however, until Pilbrow submitted a letter expressing
his admiration to Clare Fischer's website in 2011. The legendary composer's
health was already in decline (he passed away in 2012), but that email launched
a friendship between Pilbrow and Brent Fischer, which resulted in regular
contact and ultimately sparked a musical collaboration that can now be heard on
the vibrant and enthralling new album Colours of Sound (out now via Clavo
Records).
"It's
wonderful to hear people playing my tunes and bringing the music to life,"
Pilbrow says. "These musicians lovingly get into the music and play with
heart and soul -- and great technical capacity. These tunes have gestated for a
long time, so finally recording them was kind of like birthing a child."
For
listeners outside of Australia, Colours of Sound will serve as a stunning
introduction to the music of Simon Pilbrow, featuring compositions penned over
more than 30 years (all while maintaining a thriving medical practice). These
long-unheard works have been given brilliant new life through the arrangements
of Brent Fischer and the virtuosic playing of his gifted orchestra -- along
with the electrifying contributions of special guests Ken Peplowski, Larry
Koonse and Bobby Shew. Fischer's wide-ranging approaches -- from full-throttle
big band vigor to sleek, supple nonet and quintet voicings, lush string
orchestrations to an elegant clarinet choir - find the ideal soil for each of
Pilbrow's diverse tunes to take root.
"I
wanted to showcase Simon's compositional talents in a unique way," Fischer
says. "Rather than making a whole album with one quartet or one big band,
I felt we should present the broad swath of his compositions in an equally
broad variety of settings."
That Pilbrow
and Fischer share a love for diverse orchestrational approaches should come as
no surprise given the fact they both share a deep admiration for Clare
Fischer's music. The elder Fischer's own work took many forms over the course
of his career, including modernist and straight ahead big bands, Latin groups,
vocal or woodwind ensembles and a brass corps, among others. Beyond that he
worked with a staggering array of artists, from Dizzy Gillespie and Donald Byrd
to a long-running association with Prince.
Pilbrow says
that his first encounter with Dr. Fischer's music was "an epiphany."
Throughout a lifetime listening to music, he continues, "you have moments
where you hear something fresh that opens up a new vista, a new kind of
landscape. Clare Fischer's Duality was one of those -- then as I became more
familiar with his music I was inspired by the fact that he produced such a
broad range of music that it was nevertheless coherently and completely 'Clare
Fischer.' As I've come to know Brent I've appreciated that same quality in his
musical skills."
For
Fischer's part, he took the responsibility of premiering Pilbrow's compositions
to heart. "I wanted to present the music in as clever a fashion as I could
without covering anything up," he explains. "I didn't want any of the
musicians on the session to treat the melodies like they were familiar old
standards that one could take a lot of liberties with. I was meticulous about
how I wrote things so that the phrasing would represent what I heard Simon
doing when he played these songs for me for the first time."
The album
kicks off with the brisk, lively swing of Pilbrow's ode to his native land,
"Australia." The first hint of the album's range comes with the
gentle waltz "A New Beginning," written for Pilbrow's wife, Jean --
the first of many she's inspired over their 28 years together. It's highlighted
by a warm soprano turn by Alex Budman and Koonse's spiraling runs. Jean also
served as the muse for the ballad "September," here swathed by the
rich tones of a string ensemble.
"Remembering
Woody Shaw" was penned not long after the trumpet great's death in 1989,
and reflects on Pilbrow's sole chance to meet the jazz legend in 1981. It's
made all the more poignant by a bristling solo by Ron Stout, who counts Shaw
among his own mentors. Other departed musical icons have served to inspire
Pilbrow over the years, including Antonio Carlos Jobim -- memorialized by the
breezy Bossa Nova "Autumn Breeze" -- and beloved trumpeter Blue
Mitchell, the subject of the earliest piece on the album, 1981's bop-flavored
"Blue Six," which includes a standout solo by Bobby Shew.
Perhaps
inevitably, Clare Fischer himself is paid homage on "A Fischer's
Line," which Pilbrow originally envisioned as a clarinet feature and which
Brent Fischer realizes with a five-part clarinet choir, anchored by 89-year old
bass clarinetist Gene Cipriano, purportedly the most recorded saxophone player
in history (and still in amazing voice). The Latin-inflected "Studio
City," one of the most recent additions to Pilbrow's catalogue, was
directly inspired by his visits to the Fischer family in Los Angeles,
reflecting the city's gleaming, multi-cultural urban landscape.
Pilbrow has
also been inspired by musicians still among us, including longtime Fischer
collaborator Gary Foster -- whose name the composer anagrammed as "Try For
Ages," a lilting tune that reprises the clarinet choir and features
clarinet master Ken Peplowski. "Fast Fingers" tips the hat to the
fleet digits of Benny Green, a modern keyboard-blazer in the tradition of Oscar
Peterson and Roland Hanna. Finally, the joyous "Surprise" blooms in
Fischer's polyphonic reimagining, while a similar sentiment finds more urgent
life in 2005's "Joyful."
"Tunes
arise in all sorts of circumstances and from various inspirations,"
Pilbrow says. "What's beautiful about the arrangements Brent has done is
that he's completely maintained the character of each one, while enhancing them
greatly with his great skill and the nuances that he brings. It's been a
wonderful experience."
