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| WDR Big Band - Bluegrass Feat. Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Bob Mintzer (MCG Jazz ) In this extraordinary concert project by the WDR Big Band, two musical genres are 'married' which, despite their many similarities, have so far led an isolated existence: bluegrass and large orchestral jazz. Artist: WDR BIG BAND Title: BLUEGRASS Artist Website: www.mcgjazz.org WDR WEBSITE: wdrbigband.de WDR FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1143299783503689 Release Date: February 28, 2025 Label: MCG Jazz Catalog Number: MCGJ1061 UPC Code: 612262106125 TRACK LISTING 1. Slip and Slide | 7:00 | Mike Marshall | Soloists: Karolina Strassmayer, saxophone; Mike Marshall, mandolin 2. Elzic's Farewell/Yew Piney Mountain | 8:50 | Soloists: Johan Hörlen, saxophone; Ruud Breuls, trumpet 3. Down in the Willow Garden | 9:10 |Soloists: Darol Anger, violin; Bob Mintzer, tenor saxophone 4. Green Lawn | 6:30 | Bob Mintzer |Soloists: Bob Mintzer, tenor saxophone; Mike Marshall, mandolin; Darol Anger, violin 5. Emy in the Woods | 7:30 | Darol Anger | Soloists: Andy Hunter, trombone; Bob Mintzer, EWI; Mike Marshall, guitar 6. Replace It All | 7:00 | Darol Anger | Soloists: Darol Anger, violin; Jeremy Powell, tenor saxophone 7. In the Lion's Den | 6:40 | Mike Marshall | Soloists: Paul Heller, tenor saxophone; Mike Marshall, mandolin; Darol Anger, violin 8. Dexter | 8:20 | Mike Marshall | Soloists: Billy Test, piano; Bob Mintzer, tenor saxophone; Darol Anger, violin 9. Borealis | 8:50 | Mike Marshall | Soloists: Mike Marshall, guitar; Bob Mintzer, EWI; Darol Anger, violin Ensemble: WDR Big Band, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall. Director: Bob Mintzer. All arrangements by Bob Mintzer WDR BIG BAND Trumpet: Wim Both, Ruud Breuls, Andy Haderer, Martin Reuthner Trombone: Ludwig Nuss, Tim Hepburn, Andy Hunter, Mattis Cederberg Saxophone: Johan Hörlén, Karolina Strassmayer, Jeremy Powell, Paul Heller, Jens Neufang Bass: John Goldsby, Drums, Dominik Raab Piano: Billy Test Anyone familiar with the bluegrass folk style, which originated in Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 1930s and early 1940s, will recognize elements of swing, blues and gospel alongside Country influences. Bluegrass also impresses with its vitality and danceability. So, what could be more obvious than to try a fusion with big band jazz? Enthusiastic comrades-in-arms were quickly found. Bob Mintzer, chief conductor of the WDR Big Band, wrote the arrangements and two high-caliber virtuosos of modern bluegrass were recruited for the solo parts: mandolinist Mike Marshall and violinist Darol Anger. The result is an unusual mix of styles with many unheard and surprising moments. Bob Mintzer | WDR Big Band | Bluegrass | The New York Sun February 26, 2025 By Will Friedwald Listening to the "Bluegrass" album is, in one sense, a game-changer: I will never, ever again refer to this American musical genre — closely connected to both the blues and country & western music — as "roots music." One listen is enough to convince me that bluegrass is remarkably sophisticated, much like the blues and even jazz itself, and requires the same level of virtuosity. Virtuosity is offered at every level of the WDR "Bluegrass" album. Mr. Mintzer's arrangements — a combination of works by Messrs. Marshall and Anger and himself, as well as traditional tunes — are uncompromisingly modern jazz, yet they seamlessly integrate the two guest soloists as well as the top-drawer soloists in the big band itself. The orchestrations often resemble aural portraits of rustic landscapes, of postmodern Appalachian springs and rodeos that suggest a mashup of Aaron Copland in his Americana phase with Dizzy Gillespie or Stan Kenton. As Mr. Marshall picks his mandolin like crazy over the dissonant background of brass and reeds, it could be a post nuclear hoedown. "Emy In the Woods" is Mr. Mintzer's expansion of a piece recorded by Messrs. Anger and Marshall on their 2019 release, "The Duo: Da Capo." It's listed as a traditional tune, but in this treatment it sounds like anything but. The first chorus — starting with the reeds and brass sans rhythm — kind of turns in on itself in something like a square dance rhythm, accentuated by Mr. Anger's hot fiddle. This is truly the dosey-doe of the gods. Trombonist Andy Hunter then takes "Emy" to a whole other place, and it gets even further out when Mr. Mintzer enters playing his electronic wind instrument. This oddball horn — which is also part of the arsenal of the 100-year-old sax master Marshall Allen — has a unique sound totally different from any other reed or brass instrument; it's more like a keyboard or guitar synthesizer. In much the same way, the WDR's "Bluegrass" album doesn't sound like anything else I've ever heard in the fields of jazz, country music, or Americana. Here's hoping that the conductor and the orchestra return to Birdland sometime soon so that they can play this music live with Messrs. Marshall and Anger. I sure hope I don't have to wait another 19 years to hear it. write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |