Homecoming (Jazzline)
Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band Cologne
Released February 2017
Grammy Nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble 2018
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nYDhaaQGh8dIsayp62kwoKmVlHb_W-8vY
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0oyz0h2m8zLgrWuX8VeVXk?si=HYPnM1b9Qpakzpkz9ZK0CQ
About:
Homecoming. It is hardly surprising that several jazz
compositions are known by this name. Especially for the continuously travelling
improvisers, those post-modern nomads, to return home to their families is
something he/she is longing for during the continuous loop of
aeroplane-hotel-stage-aeroplane (even if he/she is longing to be back on the
road after a few days at home…). Home can mean many different things: for some
it is being on stage, for others it is an imaginary place, only to be found in
their dreams. However, you may also associate homecoming with Vince Mendoza’s
return to his acknowledged first love, jazz. Or his reunion with the orchestra
he feels deeply connected with for already more than two decades, the WDR Big
Band. Maybe the word makes you think of the happy opportunity to once again
write your own music. The word has all of these and many more meanings, all of
them are coming together in this particular homecoming.
To introduce Vince Mendoza is like sending owls to Athens. Especially in
Europe, where it has been the just-mentioned WDR Big Band, which had opened the
doors for him many years ago. No need for him to leave another musical visiting
card. The initial contact with the orchestra from Cologne has evolved into
an artistic long-term relationship long ago. Nevertheless, Homecoming is a sort
of calling card, as it not only offers us a view on his world of sound, but –
and that is the real point here – it offers us an authentic impression of his
entire musical world. To be able to provide a composer with such a privilege is
one of the marvellous opportunities a public radio/broadcaster is still able to
offer.
These opportunities not always result in magic moments. You don’t need to
involve the secret service of the “jazz-police” to get well informed people to
confess that big-band musicians are not always terribly happy about every
project they are involved in. Sometimes the chemistry between orchestra and the
invited supplier of music (a.k.a., the composer) is rather bad. However, the
relationship between the WDR Big Band and Vince Mendoza has been exceptionally
good right from the start.
His individual style as a composer is very much appreciated in Cologne. Because
of this, he was asked in 2014 to work on a concert programme and to perform it
in front of a live audience (as well as to produce a CD of the programme, which
is additional proof of the good cooperation). To secure his acknowledged
competence as a composer for the orchestra on a structured and long-term basis,
he was asked to become Composer in Residence of the big band, starting with the
concert season of 2016/17. As Bob Mintzer became Chief Conductor at the same
time, the band is now led by a sort of “duumvirate” (in addition, both men also
teach at the University of Southern California in L.A.). Both of them call Los
Angeles their home (Mintzer left New York and moved to the West Coast eight years
ago) and both have established a second home-base in Cologne many years ago.
Already the very first professional cooperation of Mintzer and Mendoza resulted
in something extraordinary: When the saxophonist joined the Yellowjackets in
1990, the band’s chamber-music masterpiece Greenhouse came into existence –
with an orchestra-arrangement by Vince Mendoza. They worked as a team again in
1995, during Mendoza’s tenure as conductor of the Dutch Metropole Orkest.
A glimpse of the joint discography of Mendoza and the WDR Big Band is enough to
call this cooperation an exceptional success story. The album Vince
Mendoza/Arif Mardin Project: Jazzpaña (ACT, 1992) was awarded the German Jazz
Award and received two Grammy nominations. The CDs Randy Brecker w/Michael Brecker
– Some Skunk Funk – Live at Leverkusener Jazztage (BHM, 2005) and Joe Zawinul –
Brown Street (Intuition, 2006) earned him two Grammys. In 2015 the outstanding
production Chano Domínguez – Soleando (Jazzline, 2015), set new standards in
the fusion of jazz and flamenco.
And now Homecoming. There was only one guideline: All compositions had to be
his own. The second condition was set by the artist himself: He wanted to use
only newly written pieces – and it goes without saying – they were made to
measure for the WDR Big Band. The band appreciated his high level of
commitment. The recording shows, that permanently employed musicians of a
broadcasting house orchestra, working in a well organised setting, are not
necessarily just “finishing a project” but can be inspired and at ease when
performing. There is no hint of this tiring theme/solo/solo/solo/theme-pattern
as Vince Mendoza is a true master of the organic form and the musical arc, a
master of densely interwoven musical thoughts. The six- to nine minutes long
compositions are complex and intensive without being excessive – on the
contrary: the music breathes.
This is already true in the fusion opening track of “Keep It Up”, set in an
irresistible intermediate tempo with latent tension – remember Miles Davis. In
“Little Voice”, Mendoza unveils his melancholic side. His distinctive style is
particularly recognisable in this composition. Everything is in a state of
flux; one imagines a landscape slowly gliding past; subtle dashes of colour, a
cool-warm blue-orange; nonverbal poetry. However, he is not only the
melancholic sound-poet. If there is a second soul beating in his chest, then it
is certainly beating in a pronouncedly percussive way – while remaining airy
all the time. “Amazonas” and “Daybreak” exude Latin-American flair; Brazil is
not far away. Moreover, Brazilian music also features vast harmonic treasures,
which makes it particularly interesting for jazz musicians. In his “Choros #3”
Mendoza lets the lines dance up and down in spirals through the harmonies. And
all of those who are regretting the disappearance of the great jazz melodists,
may particularly enjoy his songful lines. This is especially true in the title
track, “Homecoming”.
Take one of the leading jazz composers, arrangers and conductors and join him
up with one of the world’s best big bands. With these ingredients one can
expects the result to be excellent. This is particularly true in the present
case, as the long-term musical relationship has developed into something
symbiotic, leading to even better results than the already exquisite individual
parts alone might achieve. The result of One times one is one – not two. The
union of Vince Mendoza/WDR Big Band is as organic as the compositions
themselves. They are together at home. A relationship, that has grown over the
years and is characterised by mutual respect, the eagerness to work on projects
together and the values of cooperation and togetherness, which have known
better days. Those better days are back.
Karsten Mützelfeldt
Track Listing:
1. Keep It Up (Vince Mendoza) 8:36
2. Little Voice (Vince Mendoza) 6:46
3. Choros #3 (Vince Mendoza) 7:50
4. Homecoming (Vince Mendoza) 7:29
5. Amazonias (Vince Mendoza) 9:22
6. One Times One (Vince Mendoza) 8:30
7. Daybreak (Vince Mendoza) 7:30
Personnel:
WDR BIG BAND COLOGNE conducted by Vince Mendoza
Johan Hörlen:
alto, soprano sax, flute, clarinet
Karolina Strassmayer: alto sax, flute, piccolo
Olivier Peters: tenor sax, clarinet, flute
Paul Heller: tenor sax, bass clarinet
Jens Neufang: baritone sax, bass clarinet, contra alto clarinet
Wim Both: trumpet
Andy Haderer: trumpet
Rob Bruynen: trumpet
Ruud Breuls: trumpet
John Marshall: trumpet
Ludwig Nuss: trombone
Andy Hunter: trombone
Shannon Barnett: trombone
Mattis Cederberg: bass trombone, tuba
Paul Shigihara: electric, acoustic guitar
John Goldsby: electric, acoustic bass
Hans Dekker: drums
Frank Chastenier: piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3 organ
Special Guest
Marcio Doctor: percussion
Recorded
live in concert November 21st, 2014 at the Philharmonie, Köln, Germany – except
“Daybreak” recorded live in concert November 22nd 2014 at the Philharmonie,
Essen, Germany
Recording and Mix Engineer: Reinhold Nickel
Recording Producer: Christian Schmitt
Recording Assistants: Walter Platte & Thomas Kupilas
Mixed by
Reinhold Nickel and Christian Schmitt
Tonmeister: Christian Schmitt
Mastered by Bernie Grundman
Production
Coordination: Annette Hauber
Produced by Vince Mendoza and Lucas Schmid
Photos: Ines Kaiser
Executive Producer: Joachim Becker
Review:
The relationship between composer/conductor Vince Mendoza and Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln stretches back decades, but this album, recorded at two concerts in Germany in 2014, documents the first time Mendoza had written all-new material specifically for the radio station’s big band. That he was named the ensemble’s composer-in-residence two years later suggests that they liked what he came up with here. It’s a safe bet that just about anyone who enjoys the sound of a jazz orchestra will feel similarly.
If you’re already familiar with Mendoza’s approach, you’ll be pleased but not all that surprised by Homecoming. Although his pieces tend to be rooted in ostinatos and largely static grooves, the melodies growing from those roots rarely repeat themselves. The music evolves gradually and often dramatically, piling on multiple layers of harmonic complexity. On the opening “Keep It Up,” dense brass chords lend an ominous air to what otherwise would have been a standard-issue midtempo funk beat. The wistful, almost ragtime-y piano line that underpins “Little Voice” is transformed by sudden reed washes that evoke sunbeams burning through an overcast sky.
Every member of the 19-piece WDR band plays magnificently. The imaginative percussion work of Marcio Doctor and piercing trumpet playing of John Marshall warrant special praise, as does Johan Hörlén’s carefree soprano saxophone solo on “Amazonas.” But the musicians’ focus throughout is clearly not on individual performance. Their aim is to fully inhabit Mendoza’s compositions and the varied stylistic scenarios they meander into, from the mellow-hearted horn parts that give off faint aromas of ’70s polyester and shag carpeting on “Daybreak,” to the skeletal samba rhythm that sets off dizzily spiraling unison lines of flute and muted trumpet on “Choros #3.”
Marc Randall (JazzTimes)