LOGAN STROSAHL TEAM – Book 1 Of Arthur
Sunnyside
Logan Strosahl: alto saxophone, narration; Michael Sachs: clarinets; Sam Decker: tenor saxophone; Aqulie Navaroo: trumpet; Nick Saunders: piano; Connor Baker: drums; Henry Fraser: bass; Julia Easterlin: narration
Recorded 14th and 15th December 2016 by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Studios
Having grown up in Cornwall, the Arthurian story is part of my earliest memories and I’ve spent a lot of time reading around the subject, so it is always interesting to hear new takes on the legends. Strosahl’s narration is a mixture of several Arthurian sources – I could hear some ideas from Geoffrey of Monmouth, some from Mallory, some from Tennyson, as well as other ideas that I couldn’t immediately place but which seem to borrow from Welsh poems and sources.
It would have been nice to have seen the words, but these are not part of the CD package. From these various sources, Strosahl weaves a modern-word version that mixes sly humour with epic themes. So, when Ector speaks to Arthur, the words are ‘Look, I know I’ve been raising you here on my estate in south Wales as my son, in the shadow of Aurelius and the last legion. We’ve been falconing and reading Cicero, and you grew up with my son, Kay, who you think is your older brother. But the truth is, you’re not my son and I think with these Saxons coming over the hilltop, now’s a good time to tell you. You’re the son of Uther Pendragon and Igraine of Gwynned. Heir to the kingdom and my king.’
The story begins with Uther Pendragon’s victory over the army of Gorlois. In some versions of the story, the battle is motivated by Uther falling in love with Gorlois’ wife Igraine and he forces himself on her following the battle. The result of this is the baby, Arthur, who was taken to live with Sir Ector. Skipping a little around the narration we get to see musically and through the narration, the development of Arthur into a leader. So, a key feature in the story here is the Battle of Bedegraine (dated by Geoffrey of Monmouth to AD 482) with Arthur victorious, thanks to the help of French knights Ban and Bors (which comes largely from Mallory), and solidifying his right to the crown. As this is Book 1, no doubt the plans are to encompass Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere and his uniting of Saxon kingdoms. Interestingly, there is no mention of Merlin (or the various other witches and mages that populate so many versions of the Arthurian legend), so it is as if Strosahl is treating this as history; it will be interesting to see how this develops.
With its combination of Elizabethan tones and polyrhythms, the opening track ‘Prologue: in nomine’ takes us back several centuries – not to the time when King Arthur was supposed to have lived, but far enough back for the music to sound ‘old’. Immediately following this, track 2 ‘Wherein in the beast is ever more and more’ begins with a bustling fanfare of more modern jazz flavour which relaxes into something akin to contemporary ‘classical’ music, before the narration begins in track 3 (which, somewhat confusingly, uses the phrase that is the title of track 2). It is these mixes of different musical styles that keeps the settings of the narration fresh and interesting, and the way that Strosahl blends so many disparate musical styles suggests a composer of rare talent.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Sunnyside
Logan Strosahl: alto saxophone, narration; Michael Sachs: clarinets; Sam Decker: tenor saxophone; Aqulie Navaroo: trumpet; Nick Saunders: piano; Connor Baker: drums; Henry Fraser: bass; Julia Easterlin: narration
Recorded 14th and 15th December 2016 by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Studios
Having grown up in Cornwall, the Arthurian story is part of my earliest memories and I’ve spent a lot of time reading around the subject, so it is always interesting to hear new takes on the legends. Strosahl’s narration is a mixture of several Arthurian sources – I could hear some ideas from Geoffrey of Monmouth, some from Mallory, some from Tennyson, as well as other ideas that I couldn’t immediately place but which seem to borrow from Welsh poems and sources.
It would have been nice to have seen the words, but these are not part of the CD package. From these various sources, Strosahl weaves a modern-word version that mixes sly humour with epic themes. So, when Ector speaks to Arthur, the words are ‘Look, I know I’ve been raising you here on my estate in south Wales as my son, in the shadow of Aurelius and the last legion. We’ve been falconing and reading Cicero, and you grew up with my son, Kay, who you think is your older brother. But the truth is, you’re not my son and I think with these Saxons coming over the hilltop, now’s a good time to tell you. You’re the son of Uther Pendragon and Igraine of Gwynned. Heir to the kingdom and my king.’
The story begins with Uther Pendragon’s victory over the army of Gorlois. In some versions of the story, the battle is motivated by Uther falling in love with Gorlois’ wife Igraine and he forces himself on her following the battle. The result of this is the baby, Arthur, who was taken to live with Sir Ector. Skipping a little around the narration we get to see musically and through the narration, the development of Arthur into a leader. So, a key feature in the story here is the Battle of Bedegraine (dated by Geoffrey of Monmouth to AD 482) with Arthur victorious, thanks to the help of French knights Ban and Bors (which comes largely from Mallory), and solidifying his right to the crown. As this is Book 1, no doubt the plans are to encompass Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere and his uniting of Saxon kingdoms. Interestingly, there is no mention of Merlin (or the various other witches and mages that populate so many versions of the Arthurian legend), so it is as if Strosahl is treating this as history; it will be interesting to see how this develops.
With its combination of Elizabethan tones and polyrhythms, the opening track ‘Prologue: in nomine’ takes us back several centuries – not to the time when King Arthur was supposed to have lived, but far enough back for the music to sound ‘old’. Immediately following this, track 2 ‘Wherein in the beast is ever more and more’ begins with a bustling fanfare of more modern jazz flavour which relaxes into something akin to contemporary ‘classical’ music, before the narration begins in track 3 (which, somewhat confusingly, uses the phrase that is the title of track 2). It is these mixes of different musical styles that keeps the settings of the narration fresh and interesting, and the way that Strosahl blends so many disparate musical styles suggests a composer of rare talent.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
