Personnel:
Xavier Figuerola (saxes, cl), Matthew Simon (tp, flh), Sergi Vergés (tb, tuba), Pere Bardagí (violin), Lluís Vidal (p), Dani Pérez (g), Alexis Cuadrado (b), David Xirgu (d)
Reference: FSNT-084
Bar code: 8427328420846
This is the third work of the Orquestra de Cambra Teatre Lliure for Fresh Sound New Talent. The homage that the orchestra proposes to us is radically different from all the others that have been done around the world during the year of the centenary of Duke Ellington birth. It is, in effect, a bouquet of homages rolled into one, that expresses itself in an array of compositions which famous msicians have expressly dedicated to the figure of the Duke, and we are referring to such outstanding names as C.Mingus, M.Davis, S.Wonder, W.The Lion Smith, C.Fischer, F.Koglmann, and Lluis Vidal too who has now combined these pieces into a meaningful orchestration.
"AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Pianist Lluís Vidal leads this talented Spanish ensemble through a set of pieces written in honor of Duke Ellington. Any such project runs the risk of devolving into "posthumous flattery," to borrow a derisive phrase from the group's trombonist, Sergi Vergés. But this is different: These are tributes to tributes, if you will.
All the tracks are Ellington homages written through the years by other famous writers. From Willie "The Lion" Smith's "Portrait of the Duke" to Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke," Vidal explores the ways in which people across musical eras and genres have attempted to honor Ellington. In the process, he gives each piece a new orchestral flavor of his own design. "Sir Duke," for instance, gets a Dixieland-style makeover.
Vidal also gives his fine players ample room to stretch out. Instrumental highlights include Pere Bardagí's violin on Charles Mingus's "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love," Xavier Figuerola's sax on Mingus's "Open Letter to Duke," Dani Pérez's overdriven guitar on Miles Davis's "He Loved Him Madly," and Vidal's own unaccompanied tour de force on Smith's "Portrait of the Duke." Vidal remains faithful to the melodic charm of Dave Brubeck's "The Duke" and the Clare Fischer tune of the same name.
In contrast, Franz Kolgmann's "Thoughts About Duke I," a Spartan trio for sax, trumpet, and tuba, is far and away the most abstract cut. The one original of the session, Vidal's "One for Duke," is a pastiche of Ellington styles that is at once comic and highly complex."
By David R. Adler (All Music Guide)
