The melding of jazz and classical music as always been a tricky deal, usually ending up with jazzers “swinging the classics,” or string ensembles vainly attempting to sound like Count Basie but ending up imitating an orchestra from the Weimar Republic.
Pianist and composer Daniel Szabo successfully walks the tightrope, teaming with a guy who knows a bit about fusion, drummer Peter Erskine (of Weather Report fame) and creating a warm jazz chamber ensemble that includes a string quartet as well as a woodwind team that includes Bob Sheppard/fl-ts and Kim Richmond/cl-ss-as. The result is an enticing an exciting collection of sounds and cultures, melding moods of Szabo’s native Eastern Europe, modern jazz and rich classical.
Andrew Duckles’ rich viola opens up “Visionary” with a rolling baroque theme that combines Bartokian strings with the woodwinds producing a film noir urgency. The reeds get deep on a lurking take of Wayne Shorter’s “Infant Eyes” with Richmond serenely bopping over the hip pulse, velvety woodwinds and Erskine’s mallets creating an exotic yet pastoral atmosphere. The most jazzy pieces is a bluesy and hip “Underwater” with Szabo showing a nice touch. For the rest, you have some modern classical and free form flowing on the title track, lovely woodwinds dancing along the festive “Vaison-La-Romaine” and pastoral harmonies wedged in between Erskine’s drums on “Cosmic.”
Stately ideas, soft pastels and infused moments of uptown jazz fade in and out of this creative and thoughtful collection. A fusion with a light and warm fuse.