So why, you may ask, is Bowers reviewing a Christmas album in February? That’s a perceptive question, the answer to which is really quite simple: big band albums as impressive as this one by the superb New England Jazz Ensemble should be listened to and applauded not only during the holiday season but every day of the year.
The first half of the enterprise is devoted to well-known if not wholly traditional Christmas fare, the second to selections from Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn’s swing-centered adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet (transcribed by David Berger), and music director Walt Gwardyak’s ensemble is completely at ease in either mode. The opening theme, “We Wish You a Cookin’ Christmas,” is a potpourri of seasonal favorites (including “Good King Wenceslas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Carol of the Bells”) arranged by trumpeter Jeff Holmes. Holmes also arranged “Jolly Ole St. Nick,” which embodies fragments of “Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells,” and plays the leading trumpet role on Gwardyak’s lush arrangement of Bob Wells / Mel Tormé’s “The Christmas Song.”
“Rudolph” next reappears in a funky new wardrobe (thanks again to Gwardyak’s glistening arrangement), followed by “Winter Wonderland” and “Frosty the Snowman,” each rigorously designed by Holmes, and a medley of “Christmas Time Is Here” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” deftly sewn together by John Mastroianni.
The Nutcracker selections, lovingly reassembled by Berger from an Ellington/Strayhorn score that had vanished without a trace (he did so by listening to the original Ellington recording), feature authentic ensemble passages interspersed with more up-to-date improvisations by various members of the orchestra. Tenor George Sovak is showcased on two of them (“Sugar Rum Cherry,” “The Volga Vouty”) and shares the spotlight with Mastroianni’s clarinet on “Chinoiserie.”
Others heard from include Gwardyak, trombonists Peter McEachern and Tim Atherton, tenor Larry Dvorin, trumpeters Phil Person and Steve Fitzko, baritone Lisa LaDone, alto Bob DePalma and bassist Steve Bulmer. Earlier, DePalma is featured on “St. Nick,” Mastroianni (alto) and Person on “Rudolph,” Mastroianni (soprano) and Dave Sporny (euphonium) on “Wonderland,” Sporny (trombone) and McEachern on “Frosty.”
As I said, albums like this one aren’t just for
Christmas anymore but are suitable for cookin’ in anyone’s kitchenz (or den)—no matter what the season, and for no special reason. Jack Bowers
Jack Sohmer, Jazz Times, Storm Before The Calm, Sea Breeze Jazz/ SB-2104, May 2001: “All the charts emphasize straightahead swing with notable solos by arrangers, Walt Gwardyak (piano), Chris Merz (alto), Mastroianni (soprano & alto) & Phil Person (trumpet), as well as tenormen Kris Jensen and Charles Socci, trombonists Tim Atherton and Peter McEachern and trumpeter Rex Denton.
Jack Bowers, Cadence Magazine July 1996: “Hearing this disc for the first time was, to put it succinctly, an unexpected pleasure of the first rank. These gentlemen can flat out play!”
Jack Bowers, 1998: Version 3.0, Brownstone/BRCD954 “I’ve only heard one recording by pianist Walt Gwardyak’s remarkably tight-knit and immutably swinging band, but that provided more than enough evidence to render a verdict in its favor. One of the finest recordings of 1996. An exceptionally well-written studio date.”
Owen McNally, The Hartford Courant, 1995: “Version 3.0 shows the NEJE is an alliance that can proudly carry the big band tradition of swing, excellence and uncompromising non-commercial verve into the 21st century.”
Greg Haymes, Times Union, Albany, NY, 1995: Version 3.0 “…the 16 piece band offered a solidly swinging 90 minute performance that studiously avoided the usual big band clichés. This band presented a full concert program of incisive original compositions”
Steve Starger, The Hartford Advocate, 1996: Version 3.0 “The NEJE is front-loaded with top-drawer players who tackle intricate and imaginative arrangements with skill and humor.”
Jayne Keedle, The Hartford Advocate, 1995: “The NEJE just returned from the 10th International Festival of Jazz in Corinth, Greece. The crowd loved the music so much they brought the band back for two encores. The Hartford-based band, which is dedicated to playing new music, was the first American ensemble to play at the festival.”
Kevin Mack, The Hartford Courant, 1994: “Walter Gwardyak’s Suite for Jazz Band and Orchestra. This substantial work, in three movements, bears little resemblance to early progenitors like Gershwin, Whiteman, Grofe or even Rolf Lieberman of the 1950’s. Gwardyak’s style is more akin to an uneasy co-existence of Dizzy Gillespie bebop and the advanced harmonies of densely-constructed modern classical music of Olivier Messaien. There was a bit of Gordon Jenkins orchestral sound, too, for those who may remember the Manhattan Suite. Manifold influences in this well constructed Suite are all to the good, for the work stands as a fine example of music written in late 1980’s pluralistic America.”
The New England Jazz Ens. Wishes You a Cookin’ Christmas Sea Breeze Jazz SB-2125
by Jack Bowers