Brown, Anthony / Rhapsodies
Album: Rhapsodies   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Brown, Anthony   Added:Mar 2006
Label:Water Baby Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2006-04-02 Pull Date: 2006-06-04 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Jun 4 May 14 Apr 30 Apr 16 Apr 9
Airplays: 2 1 1 3 2

Recent Airplay
1. May 25, 2007: Memory Select -- Moe! Staiano interview
Bread & Bowie
4. May 08, 2006: No Cover, No Minimum
Come Sunday
2. Jun 02, 2006: Memory Select
Rhapsody in Blue/American Rhapsoidies
5. Apr 27, 2006: One World Radio
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
3. May 29, 2006: radiomundi
Come Sunday
6. Apr 14, 2006: Memory Select
Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies: Exposition

Album Review
Fo
Reviewed 2006-03-27
ANTHONY BROWN’S ORCHESTRA – “Rhapsodies”
Water Baby, 2006

Bay Area modern-jazz big band with a strong global flavor. The orchestra incorporates traditional Chinese & Japanese instruments (sheng, shakuhachi, erhu, etc.) plus Asian and African percussion for a uniquely cosmopolitan sound. The centerpiece of this disc is a nifty new 19-minute multicultural reworking of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (tracks 4-9). This should be played together, but you might get away with breaking it up. David Murray guests on 2 & 12.

Fo’s Picks: the suite & 12 (also 2 & 11 for out-jazz fans)

1. 1:18 – lovely short fugue on a Chinese-style melody, nice sax
2. 6:21 – funky Lester Bowie tribute based on “Shortnin’ Bread,” drifts into wild group improv, fades out to abstract tones, then stomps back for sax solo
3. 3:17 – sweet, shadowy Mingus ballad, played straight, rich tones
4. 5:16 – bird sounds, then the familiar melody bounces around the orchestra: marches proudly, but also has some grooving or mellow moments
5. 3:07 – starts as smooth rhumba, then back to theme in a strutting statement
6. 1:21 – wintry shakuhachi break, somewhat bleak, chilling atmosphere
7. 2:27 – bluesy restatement of theme w/ relaxed electric guitar, swampy horns
8. 3:48 – gentle and nostalgic, guitar & steel drum give it a sort of tropical feel
9. 2:59 – taiko drums imitate a train; then the big, crashing finale
10. 0:42 – “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”: solo sheng (Chinese mouth organ)
11. 8:05 – late Ellington piece (from Afro-Eurasian Eclipse): abstract for 2 minutes, then loose funky/rockin’ beats & riffs + two sax solos
12. 5:28 – Ellington gospel classic, lead voice is a duet between erhu (Chinese violin) and bass clarinet. Earthy, sprited, awesome!
13. 9:17 – blends parts of two of Brown’s extended works: starts airy & folksy, rolls with that melody, morphs into an afro-latin groove, then returns.
14. 1:09 – theme to NPR’s “Pacific Time”: happy percussion & wind layers

[Fo] - 3/27/06

Track Listing
1. Prelude To The Legacy Codes   8. Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies: Andantino & Adagio
2. Bread & Bowie   9. Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies: Taiko Trane & Finale
3. Self-Portrait In Three Colors   10. Take Me Out To The Ball Game
4. Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies: Exposition   11. Tang
5. Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies: Rumba & Recap   12. Come Sunday
6. Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies: Gagaku   13. Anthem/Baile De La Orisha
7. Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies: Scherzando   14. Rhymes [For Children]