My uncle George used to tell me when I was a kid that there would come a day when jazz would become like classical music: musicians doing formal interpretations of what once was improvisation. Is that a good or bad thing? Well, conductor Wayne Marshall takes a Teutonic big band, combines it with a classical orchestra, and tries as hard as possible not to sound like Paul Whiteman in the 20s. For the most part, he succeeds. The version here of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is one of the better takes, with just the right balance of uptown elegance and downtown rhythm, as well as some nice piano playing by the conductor. Ellington’s “Harlem” is a smoother and more coherent reading than you might be accustomed to, since Ellington’s men were notoriously loose at times. The lack of warts and personal sounding soloists (Kark Farrent/tp and Marc Godfroid/tb arent’ exactly slouches) make the music a bit tamer than you might prefer. The “Symphonic Collection” of tunes by Ellington, Gillespie and others almost calls for an announcer from Kraft Music Hall. While the music is elegant, sophisticated and pristine, the problem is that the music is elegant, sophisticated and pristine. Here, jazz is a genre and not an attitude.
Haenssler Records