Vince Mendoza's transformation from performer to composer, arranger and conductor has fully flowered over the years with pop singers (Björk, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello,) but also as a contemporary colorist within a jazz framework. Blauklang (Bluesound) is the third in a trilogy of works for the ACT label that Mendoza has created over a 15 year span, this one live at the Traumzeit Festival. It is his most satisfying of the lot, based on the quality of the players from the vaunted WDR Big Band, the timbres selected between horns and strings, and the profound musical interpretation of those blue hues heard. Inspired by the paintings of Ernst Wilhelm Nay, and to a lesser extent Yves Klein or Pablo Picasso, the deep stylistic shadings of those tonal physical artists are turned admittedly serene, enigmatic, and ambiguous. This breezy tone, sans keyboards and with little percussion, might suggest a California dream, but is much more attuned to a European aesthetic, with a little New York neo-bop thrown in for enhancement. Mendoza has clearly heard his share of latter period Gil Evans as well as Lalo Schifrin, and especially Claus Ogerman. "All Blues" appropriately kicks off the set, but is unlike the original, as an atmospheric horn backdrop, drifting away from the famous melody on the second chorus, inspires the at first restrained, then steely lead guitar lines of the incredible Nguyên Lê. This is followed by the reverent and hymnal Catalonian traditional folk ballad "Lo Rossinyol," the non-Cuban "Habanera" sounding more like the standards "Body & Soul" or "My Romance," the intricate lattice chart of the sweet Gil Evans penned 6/8 into 4/4 "Blues for Pablo," and the snippets of light and shadow in space during the waltz "Ollie Mention." The six-part "Bluesounds" concerto is an astounding musical achievement no matter what genre you want to place it in. Markus Stockhausen's pensive trumpet leads through the first two segments, the band picks up in flowing liquid to hip and tight neo-bop sway, shimmers with the harp of Ulla Van Daelen and vibist Christopher Dell during the third section, deferring to a shuffling blues beat from drummer Peter Erskine with the strings of Red Urg 4. The woodwind section and bassist Lars Danielsson back a regal French horn line from the brilliant Arkady Shilkloper on the fifth movement. But the finale is the showstopper, a fast, thoroughly modern, slightly funky tune that will move your head, fingers and toes. Lê's energetic solo and embedded 6/8 accents from the horns buoyed by tuba player Jon Sass will disarm you from the rest of the program. You will be just as pleased to listen as to perhaps make love with a special someone while this shining example of advanced, intelligent, soulfully inspired, utterly beautiful music is playing on your home stereo system. - Michael G. Nastos (allmusic)
It's been nearly a decade since composer/arranger Vince Mendoza released the sweepingly orchestral Epiphany (Zebra, 1999), but he's been anything but inactive. The arranger/orchestrator of choice for artists including quirky popstress Bjork and her hit album Vespertine (Elektra, 2001), and Joni Mitchell—reinventing the iconic singer/songwriter's vast songbook on Both Sides Now (Reprise, 2000) and Travelogue (Nonesuch, 2002)—he's remained a vital part of the jazz sphere with his vivid big band arrangements for trumpeter Randy Brecker's Some Skunk Funk (Telarc, 2006) and his exciting rework of Joe Zawinul's Weather Report orchestrations for the WDR Big Band on Brown Street (Heads Up, 2007), the keyboardist's final album before his passing.
As strong an arranger/orchestrator as Mendoza is, his high visibility projects make it easy to forget his distinctive compositional voice. Blauklang—his seventh album as a leader and the conclusion of a trilogy that began with the Arif Mardin collaboration Jazzpana (ACT, 1993) and solo effort Sketches (ACT, 1994)—features imaginative arrangements of music from Miles Davis ("All Blues"), Gil Evans ("Blues for Pablo") and the public domain (the traditional "Lo Rossinyol"). But it's his own writing that makes this album's unique collective—including string quartet, harp, tuba, French horn, reeds, trumpet, guitar, bass, drums and vibraphone—such a profound addition to his discography. With the exception of the similar but equally strong Start Here (World Pacific, 1990) and Instructions Inside (Manhattan, 1991), each release illuminates a different aspect of Mendoza's inestimable talent, while continuing to augment a significant and instantly recognizable body of work.
Mendoza calls upon friends old and new, with Nguyen Le returning from Sketches to contribute his own special mix of harmonic and coloristic breadth. The guitarist is one of Blauklang's primary voices, elegant on a gently swinging "All Blues" while demonstrating a more aggressive fusion attitude on the powerful closer to Mendoza's six-movement "Bluesounds" suite. An orchestral player capable of supporting the textural aspects of Mendoza's delicately evocative "Habanera" and subtly lyrical "Ollie Mention" while pushing the more forceful parts of "Movement II" and "Movement VI" of "Bluesounds," Peter Erskine makes it perfectly clear why he has been Mendoza's drummer of choice dating back to Vince Mendoza (H.I.T. Avenue, 1989). Trumpeter Markus Stockhausen, clarinetist/saxophonist Claudio Puntin, French hornist Arkady Shilkloper and bassist Lars Danielsson are newcomers to Mendoza's universe, but are all established names who mesh comfortably with it while, at the same time, bringing something new to expand its boundaries.
Mendoza's boldly unclassifiable writing relies on complex counterpoint and challenging meters ("Movement II"), near-ambient stasis and electro-centric textures ("Movement I"), and beautifully layered harmonies and neoclassical leanings ("Movement III"). Blauklang may revolve around blue as a distinct musical color, but it's far more than homage to the traditional concept of the blues in jazz. Instead, deeply substantive yet wholly accessible, Mendoza daringly expands the vernacular by including elements of abstract impressionism, romanticism and a highly unorthodox palette to position him as the clear and natural successor to the late Gil Evans. - John Kelman (allaboutjazz)
For jazz aficionados, composer/arranger Vince Mendoza's artisanship is a well-known entity. However, he's also enamored the works of pop-rock stars of note, including Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello and Sheryl Crow. Mendoza is a master-craftsman who possesses a keen ear to complement his vivid imaginative powers, characteristics that are fastidiously transmitted throughout this rather wondrous 2008 release.
The English translation for the German album title is "blue sound," and emanates from a painting by German artist Ernst Wilhelm Nay (1902-1968). Mendoza's original compositions, sans Miles Davis' opening classic, "All Blues," duly paint a multihued musical portraiture that luminously intimates various shades of blue. Recorded at both a German studio and music festival, the artist employs some of the finest Euro-jazz instrumentalists along with guitarist Nguyen Le and drummer Peter Erskine, who round out the strings and horns based ensemble.
With lush textures, medium tempo swing vamps and multilayered arrangements, Mendoza conveys numerous shades of blue, especially on "All Blues," where supple horns provide counterpoint to Le's somewhat elusive and loosely based reckoning of the primary theme. In other regions of sound and scope, Mendoza implements buoyant undercurrents amid symphonic-like opuses.
Mendoza's "Ollie Mention" is constructed up from a hauntingly beautiful theme that features a simple melody and rippling strings passages, as Le ups the ante via his angular riffing atop the ensemble's layered choruses. "Movement II" of the six-part "Bluesounds" features French hornist Arkady Shilkloper's triumphant lines, performed above a flourishing background, while elsewhere the contrasting hues and shadings are abetted by Markus Stockhausen's velvety solo spot.
With four Grammy awards under his hat, Mendoza may well be in line for number five with this gleaming masterwork. - Glenn Astarita
Tracks
01. All Blues (Miles Davis)
02. Lo Rossinyol (traditional)
03. Habanera (Vince Mendoza)
04. Blues For Pablo (Gil Evans)
05. Ollie Mention (Vince Mendoza)
06. Bluesounds Mov. I (Vince Mendoza)
07. Bluesounds Mov. II (Vince Mendoza)
08. Bluesounds Mov. III (Vince Mendoza)
09. Bluesounds Vol. IV (Vince Mendoza)
10. Bluesounds Vol. V (Vince Mendoza)
11. Bluesounds Vol. VI (Vince Mendoza)
NGUYÊN LÊ guitar
MARKUS STOCKHAUSEN trumpet
CLAUDIO PUNTIN clarinets / saxophones
STEFFEN SCHORN clarinets / saxophones
FRANK SACKENHEIM saxophones
ARKADY SHILKOPER french horn
JON SASS tuba
LARS DANIELSSON bass
ULLA VAN DAELEN harp
PETER ERSKINE drums
CHRISTOPHER DELL vibraphone
STRING QUARTET RED URG 4
Arranged and conducted by Vince Mendoza
Recorded at Studio 2, Funkhaus WDR, Cologne and live at Traumzeit Festival, Duisburg, Germany, July 7, 2007
ACT Music ACT 9465-2 - LC 07644. Germany