Audio Beat Rated 4/5 Music, 4.5/5 Sound!
The Dallas Wind Symphony and the Jim Cullum Jazz Band team up on this Reference Recordings sonic spectacular! Many of composer Frank Ticheli's works have become standards in concert band repertoire, and "Playing With Fire" also weaves in enthusiastic playing by the famed Jim Cullum Jazz Band. All wind music and traditional jazz enthusiasts need to have these knockout performances, conducted by Jerry Junkin. Recorded in the Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas TX, the great music and spectacular sonics are perfectly captured by Reference Recordings' world-renowned team of engineer Keith Johnson and producer Tam Henderson.
The five pieces presented here offer a musical panorama from composer Frank Ticheli (b.1958). Light to dark, to joyous jazz celebration, it is all here for the listener. The first four pieces are among the best by this famed concert band composer. The final composition, 'Playing With Fire' combines the mighty Dallas Wind Symphony with enthusiastic playing by the 7-piece Jim Cullum Jazz Band! Wind band fans and traditional jazz enthusiasts will revel in these splendid performances.
"From the powerful to the delicate, the music highlights what these 19 instruments and 51 musicians can achieve... The melding of classical music and jazz has been attempted many times in the past with varying results, usually less than successful. Here, however, the combination succeeds... The music bounces and flows -- it's Gershwin with a beat and one of the finest mergings of classical and jazz I've heard... Fortunately for both Reference Recordings and us, the engineer here was Keith Johnson, who has a wealth of experience recording the full measure of musical expression. Johnson captures the small identifying touches -- the air being blown past a reed or into a mouthpiece -- with a clarity that you cannot ignore, yet the massed power of the Dallas Wind Symphony is astoundingly realistic. When the Cullum Jazz Band is added to the mix, the results donÂ’t change one iota. From the brass to the bass to the drums, the jazz band sounds as realistic as IÂ’ve heard... ItÂ’s a fine balancing act that the recording achieves... a true audiophile thrill. This HDCD is a world-class effort well worth seeking out." - John Crossett, theaudiobeat.com, Music 4/5, Sound 4.5/5
Click Here to read the entire review!
Features:
• HDCD/24-bit
• Mastered by Prof. Keith O. Johnson
Musicians:
Dallas Wind Symphony
Jerry Junkin, conductor
Jim Cullum Jazz Band
Selections:
Frank Ticheli (b.1958)
1. Postcard
San Antonio Dances
2. Alamo Gardens
3. Tex-Mex On the Riverwalk
Symphony No. 2
4. Shooting Stars
5. Dreams Under a New Moon
6. Apollo Unleashed
7. Rest
Playing With Fire
8. A la Bauduc
9. Shades of Blue
10. polyphonies and Riffs
Recorded in the Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas TX
The Dallas Wind Symphony and the Jim Cullum Jazz Band team up on this Reference Recordings sonic spectacular! Many of composer Frank Ticheli's works have become standards in concert band repertoire, and "Playing With Fire" also weaves in enthusiastic playing by the famed Jim Cullum Jazz Band. All wind music and traditional jazz enthusiasts need to have these knockout performances, conducted by Jerry Junkin. Recorded in the Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas TX, the great music and spectacular sonics are perfectly captured by Reference Recordings' world-renowned team of engineer Keith Johnson and producer Tam Henderson.
The five pieces presented here offer a musical panorama from composer Frank Ticheli (b.1958). Light to dark, to joyous jazz celebration, it is all here for the listener. The first four pieces are among the best by this famed concert band composer. The final composition, 'Playing With Fire' combines the mighty Dallas Wind Symphony with enthusiastic playing by the 7-piece Jim Cullum Jazz Band! Wind band fans and traditional jazz enthusiasts will revel in these splendid performances.
"From the powerful to the delicate, the music highlights what these 19 instruments and 51 musicians can achieve... The melding of classical music and jazz has been attempted many times in the past with varying results, usually less than successful. Here, however, the combination succeeds... The music bounces and flows -- it's Gershwin with a beat and one of the finest mergings of classical and jazz I've heard... Fortunately for both Reference Recordings and us, the engineer here was Keith Johnson, who has a wealth of experience recording the full measure of musical expression. Johnson captures the small identifying touches -- the air being blown past a reed or into a mouthpiece -- with a clarity that you cannot ignore, yet the massed power of the Dallas Wind Symphony is astoundingly realistic. When the Cullum Jazz Band is added to the mix, the results donÂ’t change one iota. From the brass to the bass to the drums, the jazz band sounds as realistic as IÂ’ve heard... ItÂ’s a fine balancing act that the recording achieves... a true audiophile thrill. This HDCD is a world-class effort well worth seeking out." - John Crossett, theaudiobeat.com, Music 4/5, Sound 4.5/5
Click Here to read the entire review!
Features:
• HDCD/24-bit
• Mastered by Prof. Keith O. Johnson
Musicians:
Dallas Wind Symphony
Jerry Junkin, conductor
Jim Cullum Jazz Band
Selections:
Frank Ticheli (b.1958)
1. Postcard
San Antonio Dances
2. Alamo Gardens
3. Tex-Mex On the Riverwalk
Symphony No. 2
4. Shooting Stars
5. Dreams Under a New Moon
6. Apollo Unleashed
7. Rest
Playing With Fire
8. A la Bauduc
9. Shades of Blue
10. polyphonies and Riffs
Recorded in the Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas TX
