Personnel:
Allyn Ferguson (p, frh, perc), Robert Wilson (tp, perc), Frank Leal (as, b-cl), Modesto Briseno (cl, ts, bs), Fred Dutton (b, bassoon, contra-bassoon), Tom Reynolds (d, tympani), Kenneth Patchen (poetry)
Reference: FSRCD 2247
Bar code: 8427328622479
With the Chamber Jazz Sextet, composer, leader and conductor Allyn Ferguson set out to do what he saw was going to be inevitable the bringing together of jazz and classical disciplines.
The Chamber Jazz Sextet hopes to catalyze this inevitable fusion of jazz and classical attitudes, he said. Toward this end, the members of the group, both individually and collectively, are making use of their every available musical knowledge in attempting to render music both meaningful and legitimate for the listener.
The results he achieved with this multi-instrumental group, in both the first half, where the focus is primarily on the sextet, and in the second, where it functions in an essentially accompanying role to poet Kenneth Patchens interpretations, are provocative, stimulating and rewarding. The group is well knit, with strong soloists and provided one of the most fascinating attempts of its kind to combine two musical worlds without compromising the inherent values and virtues of each.
"Late '50s intriguing West Coast cool jazz group that blended standards, originals and reworked numbers in concise, colorful, and swinging style with occasionally unusual instrumentation such as bassoon and bass clarinet."
Ron Wynn -All Music Guide
