Songs You Like a Lot (Flexatonic Records)

Songs You Like a Lot (Flexatonic Records)

John Hollenbeck with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, Gary Versace, and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band

Released August 14, 2020

Grammy Nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album 2021

YouTube:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mJE6x9zpGQzgl50BAG6DbLXsDvtZ5Vpkc

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/album/6O2CIsSlsrrcrEHPZQMxni?si=nnFRcw95SN6Zu3Fle1KCGA

About:

This is the final chapter of a trilogy of albums in which I explored and arranged popular songs. The entire project was made in collaboration with vocalists Theo Bleckmann and Kate McGarry, pianist Gary Versace, and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band. For the first recording, Songs I Like A Lot, I selected the majority of the songs for the album. Many of the songs I chose were from my childhood, and as I started to really listen to them again, I was surprised by how well I actually knew them. The second recording, Songs We Like A Lot, is composed primarily of songs that Theo and Kate liked and chose for me to arrange. Uri Caine held down the piano chair on this recording. And for this third and final recording, Songs You Like A Lot, we asked listeners to nominate their favorite songs for me to arrange. We then had an internet-wide vote on a list of nominated songs, and I chose (with the help of Kate, Theo and Gary) from the top 20 most popular songs.

This project brought up questions I asked myself numerous times: What is arranging? Why arrange? Why arrange popular songs? Is it still a “pop” song if it was not “popular”? Must the original still be recognizable in the arrangement? What can you arrange and what must be left intact so that the original is still there? When does it stop being an arrangement and transition to being a re-composition or original-composition-based-on-another-piece? And, do you have to like a song or composition to be able to create a good arrangement of it? Going into the project, my answer to this last question was “yes,” but now at the end of this project, my answer has changed to a definite “no.” As it turns out, for this recording, I was able to enjoy arranging pieces that I did not know or, in some cases, even like. This brought up subsequent questions: What does it mean to “like” a song? Is it possible to know a song so well, so completely, that even though you don’t really like the song, you realize that because you have heard it so much and know it so well, you end up kind of liking it anyway? (Yes!) And finally, how do you arrange something that you really do like, that you’re not sure you should even try to change?

What I do know is that above all, I want the listener to be reinvigorated and have their interest in the original versions of these songs revived! Through the course of this entire project, I have come up against many listeners that are so attached to the originals that any changes are considered blasphemy! I understand their feelings, but I also believe that this could be a great lesson in non-attachment? The Buddhists would say non-attachment is the key to happiness, so for the “poo-poo’ers” out there, consider this a path to enlightenment!
My arrangements may also highlight facets of these songs that were not obvious to the listener in the original, perhaps revealing hidden and exciting new layers. I sought to emphasize material that is present in the original, but not featured or in the foreground. I also tried to rewind what I perceived may have been the original compositional process to then figure out what I would do from that same point of departure. This approach always brought me down a much different path than the original composer. Throughout the course of this entire project, I also learned new methods of arranging that center in on how to change the original as little as possible while still achieving something “new.”

To give you some specifics on my process: in “Down by the River to Pray”, I let each verse exist organically in its own “room”, culminating in the last verse where all the “rooms” come together simultaneously. Keeping in mind the deep meaning this piece has to Kate, and many others, including myself, I tried to be very careful in not forcing the material, but allowed it to be what it wanted to be.
The Refuge Trio, a collective trio I have with Theo and Gary, was originally formed to perform in a Joni Mitchell tribute concert in New York City. In fact, the name of the band comes from her song “Refuge of the Road”. Having performed her work extensively, I knew that Theo could make “Blue” come to life in his singular way. I tried to do as little as possible with this one and mostly orchestrated the original piano part.

“How Deep is Your Love?” is a nostalgic tune for me. All of the Bee Gees tunes remind me of what was on the jukebox in the local bowling alley where I would bowl on Friday afternoons as a kid. Looking at the song many years later, the title’s question “How deep is your love?” took on an even deeper meaning to me and I heard an urgent intensity in these words, which I chose to emphasize.
The classic “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor was one of the most challenging pieces to arrange because I’m simply in love with the original and was reluctant to even touch it. I imagined how Kate would bring her own magic and then subtly shaped the original by accentuating certain qualities that were present but not explicit.

The Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel pairing in “Don’t Give Up” seemed very suitable to Kate and Theo, but in order to get away from the original, I thought it would be interesting to have them switch parts. This concept of switching is explored also in the last section of the song with an escalation of intense vocal hocketing. While the original version of this song fades out like a gentle pat on the shoulder, I chose to end this arrangement with a coach-like fervor, imploring: “DON’T!” (GIVE UP)
“Kindness” doesn’t officially belong on this album of arrangements because it is an original, but I love this magical poem by Naomi Shihab Nye and want more people to hear it!
“Pure Imagination” was arranged with Gary Versace and Theo Bleckmann in mind. These two musicians embody pure imagination to me, so I created a musical fantasy world as described by the lyrics for them to explore and make magic in!

The easiest solution to arranging extremely popular songs like “God Only Knows” (which was #1 on the voters’ list), is to simply re-orchestrate it. I chose instead to challenge myself to re-cast this classic in a new light. I had such a great time re-arranging the lyrics that this became the key to finding what often sounds like a completely different piece, which I call “Knows Only God.” Perhaps after several listenings of both versions, you will start to hear that “God only Knows” is still totally present and intact!
A huge debt of gratitude goes to Olaf, his team, the band, Kate, Theo, Gary, Uri and my wife, Kate for making this trilogy possible!
John Hollenbeck 

Track Listing:

1. Down to the River to Pray (Folk Song) 06:43

2. Blue (Joni Mitchell) 07:26

3. How Deep is Your Love? (Barry Gibb / Maurice Gibb / Robin Gibb) 08:22

4. Fire and Rain (James Taylor) 08:26

5. Don’t Give Up (Peter Gabriel) 08:51

6. Kindness (John Hollenbeck / Naomi Shihab Nye) 06:19

7. Pure Imagination (Leslie Bricusse / Anthony Newley) 10:47

8. Knows Only God (God Only Knows) (Brian Wilson / Tony Asher) 06:18

Personnel:

John Hollenbeck: composer, arranger, conductor
Theo Bleckmann: voice
Kate McGarry: voice
Gary Versace: piano, organ

Frankfurt Radio Big Band

Saxophones: Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn (alto/soprano, clarinet, flute), Oliver Leicht (alto/soprano, clarinet, flute, piccolo), Ben Kraef: tenor/soprano, flute), Steffen Weber: tenor/soprano, clarinet, flute, alto flute), Rainer Heute: bari/bass, Bb/bass/contra-bass clarinet, flute)

Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Frank Wellert, Thomas Vogel, Martin Auer, Axel Schlosser

Trombone: Christian Jaksjø, Felix Fromm, Shannon Barnett, Manfred Honetschläger (bass)

Guitar: Martin Scales

Bass: Hans Glawischnig

Drums: Jean Paul Höchstädter

Special guest

Claus Kiesselbach (mallet percussion, timpani)

Recorded May 27 – 28, 2019, at Hörfunkstudio II, Hessischer Rundfunk Frankfurt, Germany Produced by John Hollenbeck with Hessischer Rundfunk
Producer: Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Olaf Stötzler
Recording and Editing: Axel Gutzler
Recording Engineer: Robin Bös
Mixing Engineer: Brian Montgomery
Mastering: Brent Lambert, Kitchen Mastering
Frankfurt Radio Big Band Production Support: Rebecca Laufer, Lucia Rosu, Annette Neuwohner
Music Copyist: Anna Webber

Review:

Every ending a beginning, each conclusion an act of creation. If multi-hyphenate John Hollenbeck’s Songs You Like A Lot doesn’t slot within that sentiment, nothing really does. This collection marks the completion of a lauded trilogy that’s stretched out across the better part of a decade, but it also signals the start of something new—the Flexatonic Arts non-profit, which will serve as an umbrella for Hollenbeck’s arts and education initiatives, and the record label it houses, acting as a home for Hollenbeck’s past releases and future projects.
Joining forces with the same titanic talents who appeared on Songs I Like a Lot (Sunnyside, 2013) and Songs We Like a Lot (Sunnyside, 2015) —vocalists Theo Bleckmann and Kate McGarry, pianist/organist Gary Versace and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band—Hollenbeck has his way with pop, disco, folk and stage classics, adding significant depth and dimension(s) to everything he touches. All of the selections, save for his own “Kindness,” are part of a firm structure of collective cultural experiences we’ve spied through radios, concerts, films and/or theater, yet all prove perfectly malleable in the hands of this protean arranger.
One need only take a single listen to the opener—”Down to the River to Pray,” popularized through its inclusion in the 2001 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? —to realize how Hollenbeck unlocks the potential within a composition. McGarry and Bleckmann offer a relatively faithful, harmonized introduction, but then each verse takes on its own character, both in line with and independent of the others. Not surprisingly, all aspects eventually reach a merger that demonstrates clear compatibility. Offering an expansive yet honest look at the original harmonies, some glimmering textural wonders, and notable solos from bassist Hans Glawischnig, guitarist Martin Scales and pianist Gary Versace, it proves to be a highlight before anything else is even considered.
The remaining seven wonders further the image of Hollenbeck as a thoughtful writer. His take on Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” blooms from a curious exchange from Versace’s organ and Oliver Leicht’s clarinet, taking clearer shape as a gliding, soft-bedded beauty tailor-made for Bleckmann’s voice. The interpretation of The Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love?” puts the titular question under examination, with angular assertions, swimming and dovetailing lines, exclamatory ensemble phrasing (around the question at hand), and propulsive grooving under Steffen Weber’s tenor stand. And “Fire and Rain” finds Glawischnig setting the scene, gracefully flowing streams reflecting a light in their crossings, Christian Jaksjø adding his tasteful trombone to the mix, and McGarry making the well-covered vocals her own.

Axel Schlosser’s funky trumpet work ushers in Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up,” a rock-fronted performance that kicks off the second half of the album and eventually settles down on its familiar stylistic and sonic plane. The major twists? A role reversal, flipping the original Gabriel and Kate Bush parts for Bleckmann and McGarry, and a brief tangle leading to the curtains-signaling, emphatic “Don’t” capper. Hollenbeck’s “Kindness” follows, serving as the one true outlier on an album of fan-favorite familiars. But if it doesn’t exactly fit the theme, it still manages to sit well in the mix. Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry serves as the spine of the composition and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band’s sensitive treatment of Hollenbeck’s writing elevates the words in motion.
With Hollenbeck’s literal and topical embrace of “Pure Imagination,” laid out as a kaleidoscopic fantasy for and by Versace and Bleckmann, and his brilliant derrangement of “God Only Knows” (dubbed “Knows Only God”), the album reaches a conclusion tied to the very essence of Hollenbeck’s art. Creating music cradled by logic yet crafted with ingenuity, this brilliant artist reminds us why we liked these songs in the first place and how each one can serve as a vehicle for serious understanding and meaningful exchange(s) on multiple levels.

Dan Bilawsky (All About Jazz)