SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA & MAKOTO OZONE- Jeunehomme: Mozart Piano Concerto No.9 K-271
Spartacus Records
Makoto Ozone (piano); with the SNJO: Reeds - Martin Kershaw clarinet, alto saxophone); Ruaridh Pattison (alto, soprano saxophones); Tommy Smith (flute, tenor saxophone); Konrad Wiszniewski (tenor saxophone); Bill Fleming (baritone saxophone); Trumpets - Tom Walsh, Cameron Jay, Tom McNiven, Lorne Cowieson; Trombones - Chris Grieve, Phil O'Malley, Michael Owers; Rhythm Section - Calum Gourley (acoustic bass); Alyn Cosker (drums)
Recorded Queen's Hall, Edinburgh 26th April 2014
If running a large scale orchestra is not a big enough challenge, the Scottish Nation Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Tommy Smith continue to push forward. Not content to sit on their laurels, satisfied with the enviable world wide reputation that they have built up over the years, they continue to raise the bar with each new project and each time that they step out on to the stage.
Having delighted audiences in Scotland with programmes incorporating original commissions alongside music by Weather Report, Jaco Pastoriuys, the Yellowjackets, Billy Strayhorn, Benny Golson and Frank Sinatra (featuring US vocalist, Kurt Elling), they now turn their attention to the classical repertoire.
Tommy Smith and pianist Makota Ozone's association goes back nearly thirty years, from their time at Boston's Berklee College and their stint in Gary Burton's Whizz Kids group, further collaborations seemed to be inevitable but a project of this scale has yielded truly remarkable results. Arranged and orchestrated by the pianist, Ozone's re-imagining of Mozart's piano concerto may well introduce many a jazz buff to the world of the classical composer, or indeed the classical audience to the joy of jazz but at the end of the day that is not the point. What Ozone and the SNJO achieve is not an amalgamation or juxtaposition of genres, but simply great music. And if the listener does start off thinking that they are listening to classical music performed by a jazz orchestra then before the end of the disc all such thoughts will have disappeared completely as they get swept away by sheer magnitude of what they are hearing, rendering pointless any need to pigeon-hole the music.
In rearranging Mozart's Piano Concerto No:9, written in 1777 when the composer was just 21, Ozone has eschewed any attempt to bring a 'contemporary' or modern update to the concerto, recognising that the music is already timeless, and instead reworks the piece using the different instrumentation at his disposal and recasting the original outline to allow space for improvised solos. Makoto handles his role as primary instrumentalist with aplomb, flitting from complex written parts to free flowing and swinging improvisations with apparent ease, whilst all the time never losing sight of the composer's intentions.
Other notable solos come form the tenor saxophone of Tommy Smith, especially on the opening segment of the '2nd Movement Andantini Tango', first as the lone voice and then in duet with the pianist, to be followed by Ru Pattison's beautiful soprano solo; and then the tour de force that is the '3rd Movement Rondo / Presto Be-Bop' where the arrangements give the orchestra full rein to cust loose and fly.
Extending the movement to twice it's original duration could have been a recipe for disaster but Ozone pulls this of in style. In doing so the harmonic language used by Mozart in the opening bars is not that far removed from be-bop, as Makoto is quick to point out, and there are wonderful touches that hint at Ellingtonia in Ozone's orchestration. In between contributions from trumpeter Tom Walsh, trombonist Chris Greve and Alyn Cosker on drums (whose long solo is a real highlight) the pianist gets in two superb solos himself with the 3rd Movement as whole a wonderful climax to what has gone before.
Another truly inspiring and outstanding performance from the SNJO and the Japanese pianist that deserves to be widely heard. With the orchestra yet again raising the bar, forget record of the year, this surely must rank as one of the best albums of the new millenium.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Spartacus Records
Makoto Ozone (piano); with the SNJO: Reeds - Martin Kershaw clarinet, alto saxophone); Ruaridh Pattison (alto, soprano saxophones); Tommy Smith (flute, tenor saxophone); Konrad Wiszniewski (tenor saxophone); Bill Fleming (baritone saxophone); Trumpets - Tom Walsh, Cameron Jay, Tom McNiven, Lorne Cowieson; Trombones - Chris Grieve, Phil O'Malley, Michael Owers; Rhythm Section - Calum Gourley (acoustic bass); Alyn Cosker (drums)
Recorded Queen's Hall, Edinburgh 26th April 2014
If running a large scale orchestra is not a big enough challenge, the Scottish Nation Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Tommy Smith continue to push forward. Not content to sit on their laurels, satisfied with the enviable world wide reputation that they have built up over the years, they continue to raise the bar with each new project and each time that they step out on to the stage.
Having delighted audiences in Scotland with programmes incorporating original commissions alongside music by Weather Report, Jaco Pastoriuys, the Yellowjackets, Billy Strayhorn, Benny Golson and Frank Sinatra (featuring US vocalist, Kurt Elling), they now turn their attention to the classical repertoire.
Tommy Smith and pianist Makota Ozone's association goes back nearly thirty years, from their time at Boston's Berklee College and their stint in Gary Burton's Whizz Kids group, further collaborations seemed to be inevitable but a project of this scale has yielded truly remarkable results. Arranged and orchestrated by the pianist, Ozone's re-imagining of Mozart's piano concerto may well introduce many a jazz buff to the world of the classical composer, or indeed the classical audience to the joy of jazz but at the end of the day that is not the point. What Ozone and the SNJO achieve is not an amalgamation or juxtaposition of genres, but simply great music. And if the listener does start off thinking that they are listening to classical music performed by a jazz orchestra then before the end of the disc all such thoughts will have disappeared completely as they get swept away by sheer magnitude of what they are hearing, rendering pointless any need to pigeon-hole the music.
In rearranging Mozart's Piano Concerto No:9, written in 1777 when the composer was just 21, Ozone has eschewed any attempt to bring a 'contemporary' or modern update to the concerto, recognising that the music is already timeless, and instead reworks the piece using the different instrumentation at his disposal and recasting the original outline to allow space for improvised solos. Makoto handles his role as primary instrumentalist with aplomb, flitting from complex written parts to free flowing and swinging improvisations with apparent ease, whilst all the time never losing sight of the composer's intentions.
Other notable solos come form the tenor saxophone of Tommy Smith, especially on the opening segment of the '2nd Movement Andantini Tango', first as the lone voice and then in duet with the pianist, to be followed by Ru Pattison's beautiful soprano solo; and then the tour de force that is the '3rd Movement Rondo / Presto Be-Bop' where the arrangements give the orchestra full rein to cust loose and fly.
Extending the movement to twice it's original duration could have been a recipe for disaster but Ozone pulls this of in style. In doing so the harmonic language used by Mozart in the opening bars is not that far removed from be-bop, as Makoto is quick to point out, and there are wonderful touches that hint at Ellingtonia in Ozone's orchestration. In between contributions from trumpeter Tom Walsh, trombonist Chris Greve and Alyn Cosker on drums (whose long solo is a real highlight) the pianist gets in two superb solos himself with the 3rd Movement as whole a wonderful climax to what has gone before.
Another truly inspiring and outstanding performance from the SNJO and the Japanese pianist that deserves to be widely heard. With the orchestra yet again raising the bar, forget record of the year, this surely must rank as one of the best albums of the new millenium.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
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