Architecture of Storms (Sound Spore Records)
Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows
Released November 5, 2021
JazzTimes Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2021
Grammy Nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album 2023
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mRTxgGvfa1K9-Cp233kRQwW4AfmZsMNL4
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About:
Lauded by The Brooklyn Rail for its “cinematic majesty,” the Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows orchestra returns on Architecture of Storms, adding another riveting chapter to Le Boeuf’s innovative vision as a jazz orchestra composer. The ensemble performs with gripping virtuosity on a richly varied program of original pieces as well as Le Boeuf’s arrangement of “Minnesota, WI,” by indie-folk pioneer Justin Vernon (Bon Iver).
From the start, Architecture of Storms finds Le Boeuf stepping forward more frequently as a saxophone soloist. Architecture of Storms also brings a wider array of influences into view, from big-band jazz to indie rock and singer-songwriting. Whether performing with American pop/rock band HAIM, or writing for Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Le Boeuf has shaped a sonic identity that flourishes in a wide range of musical environments, giving his music a unique beauty. The title Architecture of Storms refers to the album’s centerpiece, “The Melancholy Architecture of Storms,” featuring the lyrics of poet Sara Pirkle, sung by guest vocalist Julia Easterlin.
Summoning inspired textures, tone colors, harmonic vistas and rhythms throughout Architecture of Storms, Le Boeuf boldly advances on his journey in 21st-century jazz orchestra composition. But too, his nimble and expressive alto saxophone work — what veteran journalist Ted Panken has called a “distinctive dark-hued instrumental voice [that] emerges with clarity and focused intention” — makes Architecture of Storms a breakthrough on another level. It’s the sound of an artist shoring up one of his firmest convictions: “jazz has no limits.”
“The Melancholy Architecture of Storms”
August wind beneath the eaves
Reminds me of your breath in my ear.
You whispered once
That I should try to find you
If you ever left.
Summer air before a storm
Will simmer like a wistful kettle.
I hear your name
In every single bird cry,
Each melancholy song.
Swollen clouds expand with rain.
The lightning stretches its white fingers
Toward the fields
The way my fingers searched you,
Unlocking every door.
All I know is that you were
My great undoing, great disaster.
You ruined me for everybody after.
I never let you go,
Never could let go.
Lyrics by Sara Pirkle
Track Listing:
1. Neener Neener (Remy Le Boeuf) 06:37
2. Minnesota, WI (Justin Vernon) 05:09
Grammy Nominee for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella 2023
3. The Melancholy Architecture of Storms (Remy Le Boeuf / Sara Pirkle) 04:13
4. Face Value (Remy Le Boeuf) 05:57
5. Union (Remy Le Boeuf) 05:39
6. Sibbian (Remy Le Boeuf) 09:48
7. Secondhand Smile (Remy Le Boeuf) 06:37
8. Bring Me There (Remy Le Boeuf) 05:25
9. Rumpus (Remy Le Boeuf) 05:52
Personnel:
Conductor: Gregory Robbins
Featured Guests:
Julia Easterlin: vocals (3)
Dayna Stephens: tenor sax (4)
Remy Le Boeuf: alto sax, soprano sax, flute, alto flute (soloist on 1, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Ben Kono: flute, clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax
Vito Chiavuzzo: flute, alto sax
Lucas Pino: tenor sax, clarinet
John Lowery: tenor sax, clarinet
Carl Maraghi: baritone sax, bass clarinet
Anna Webber: flute (5, 7)
John Lake, Seneca Black, Tony Glausi, Philip Dizack, Mike Rodriguez (soloist on 2), Matt Holman (soloist on 6), Dave Adewumi: trumpet
Mike Fahie, Eric Miller, Natalie Cressman (soloist on 8), Sam Blakeslee (soloist on 4), Javier Nero, Isaac Kaplan, Jennifer Wharton: trombone
Alex Goodman: guitar
Horace Bray: guitar (1)
Martha Kato: piano (soloist on 6, 8, 9)
Matt Aronoff: bass (soloist on 5)
Peter Kronreif: drums
James Shipp: vibraphone, percussion (1, 7)
Joe Saylor: tambourine (9)
Recorded March 6 – 7, 2019 at Oktaven Audio, Mt Vernon, NY. (tracks 1, 2, 5-8) and April 1 & May 6, 2021 at Big Orange Sheep, Brooklyn, NY. (tracks 3, 4, 9 and overdubs) Producer: Remy Le Boeuf
Session Producers: Mike Holober, Migiwa Miyajima
Executive Producers: Louise Stephens, Adria LeBoeuf, Sarah Stephens, Jun Umegaki, Robin & Gary Ungar, Maria Alataris, Abby Russell, Lucille Reiter, Joanne Reiter
Recording Engineers: Brian Montgomery, Chris Benham
Assistant Engineers: Charles Mueller, Edwin Huet, Chris Boecker, David Turk
Mixing Engineer: Brian Montgomery
Mastering: Dave Darlington
Editing Engineers: Brian Montgomery, Remy Le Boeuf, Owen Mulholland
Session Assistants: Fuga Suzuki, Max Kassoy
Photographer: Shervin Lainez
Graphic Designer: Jamie Breiwick & Bside Graphics
Review:
Architecture of Storms is Remy Le Boeuf’s second large-ensemble album. The first, Assembly of Shadows, received two Grammy nominations in 2019. It would not be surprising if this release received more such recognition. It is also a “big” record: in ambition, scale, and degree of difficulty.
There are 30 musicians on the personnel roster. Le Boeuf needs them all to create his intricate ensemble designs. The opening track, “Neener Neener,” sets the tone. It is a brash, dramatic announcement, a labyrinth of counterlines and riffs and calls and responses. Pieces that begin in relative calm rarely stay that way. They get loud, fast, and ornate. There are so many moving parts in a Le Boeuf chart, and so much blaring energy, that the effect can be overkill. Yet the composer is on top of the details. Everything fits together, kaleidoscopically.
Le Boeuf gives himself extensive solo space. His improvisations on alto and soprano saxophones are counterparts to his arrangements: colorful and convoluted, somewhere between frantic and fussy. It is unfortunate that the best soloists in the band, tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens and trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, get only one opportunity each. “Face Value” has a solo from Stephens that sounds torn out of him. Rodriguez’s clarion response to the hypnotic theme of “Minnesota, WI” is flawless. (It is the album’s best song and only cover, composed by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, who specializes in hypnotic themes.)
There is much to admire about Architecture of Storms. Le Boeuf’s postmodern orchestra, full of players capable of executing his intellectually challenging music, sounds like no other big jazz band. But Le Boeuf does not yet write memorable melodies, and his arrangements often sound overwrought and self-consciously clever. He remains a talent to watch.
Thomas Conrad (JazzTimes)
