Jim McNeely & the Frankfurt Radio Big Band Barefoot Dances and Other Visions

Jim McNeely & the Frankfurt Radio Big Band
Barefoot Dances and Other Visions
Planet Arts Recordings

This is another collaboration between an American jazz musician and a European Radio Big Band. McNeely has worked with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band over several years and this CD is a suite of seven scenes he conjured up. He notes that a couple of compositions imagine the return of great musicians no longer with us. Other compositions begin with a chamber-size vision before the whole band develops the performance. McNeely conducts the big band on this recording which he himself states "is truly a collaboration between the members of the band and myself."

The opening track, "Bob's Here" is dedicated to one of McNeely's mentors, the trombonist, and composer Bob Brookmeyer. It begins with an interchange between the rhythm section and brass before the punchy horns start working against the drums. This is followed by Christian Jasko's swirling bass trombone solo and the bluesy guitar of Martin Scales with McNeely's scoring framing these fiery solos. Peter Reiter's solo piano calmly opens "Black Snow" before the rhythm section enters to warm things and has a lovely Martin Auer flügelhorn solo. The festive "Barefoot Dances" was inspired by a Matisse painting with a spirited Günter Bollmann trombone solo over drums followed by a spirited full band section leading to Hans-Dieter Sauerborn's twisting, dancing soprano sax solo. Special mention of drummer Jean Paul Höchstädter's playing throughout this performance.

"A Glimmer of Hope" is in McNeely's words about "optimism struggling to survive in an ocean of darkness." Rainer Haute's baritone sax engages in a conversation with Peter Fell's trombone of Peter Fell followed by Manfred Honetschläger's reflective bass trombone playing. A tribute to the pioneering arranger Don Redman, "Redman Rides Again," McNeely notes Redman wrote fantastic clarinet trios, and opens with a prelude spotlighting Axel Schlosser on flugelhorn set against cascades of sounds before the main body of the piece which includes a swinging actual clarinet trio before a virtual trio of Oscar Leicht and his harmonized clarinet. Then he takes us "Falling Upwards" with a couple tenor sax solos and then a brighter take on one of the themes from "A Glimmer of Hope," before rousing tenor sax from Steffen Weber.

McNeely describes "The Cosmic Hodge-Podge," as "a vision of a cosmic soup where galaxies are replaced by blocks of sound," with sections playing against each other along with some hot solos including Axel Schlosser on trumpet. This stirring performance closes a terrific big band recording with wonderful compositions played superbly.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here Jim McNeely talks about his collaboration with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band.