By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Intrada
Oh, how I miss the big
bands!
And, as a result, how
grateful I am for releases such as this one from Dave Slonaker, who feel
the same emptiness, and occasionally fill it with great “temporary” groups.
Unless you’re part of the
musical world, Slonaker probably isn’t on your jazz scope. But if you’re a
movie or television fan, you’ve been exposed to him many times during the past
20 years. He has arranged or orchestrated the music for dozens of films
and TV shows. A partial list includes Oz, the Great and Powerful,
Frankenweenie, Little Fockers, Men in Black 3, Milk, Night at the Museum,
Charlotte’s Web, The Legend of Zorro, Jag and many, many more. We
therefore can take for granted that his skills are far better than his lack of
a “name” might suggest.
This big band is the newest
of his endeavors, and Intrada is the group’s
debut release. It’s a truly large unit: five woodwinds, five
trumpets/flugelhorns, four trombones and a rhythm section consisting of piano,
bass and drums. Slonaker arranged all the tunes and directed this stellar
group.
This is the smoothest orchestra
that I’ve heard in years. The arrangements are superb; the solo work,
distributed among the cadre of artists, is sensational. There’s nothing not to
like, but the highlight arrangement is a visit to the old standard, “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” It’s
a wonderful melody, and Slonaker’s arrangement brings it back to life in an
intriguing way.
I hope to hear a
lot more from these artists.
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