Concert Review: Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra — A Tribute to Miles Davis & John Coltrane
It’s good to be flexible. It provides more options, more variety, and better ability to adapt to different situations. The Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra (CJRO) is generally a big band, but it can slim down on a moment’s notice and morph into a small ensemble. And, with all those players on hand, the personnel in the small ensemble can shift and change as the tune at hand demands.
Sunday night, February 1, at Dazzle, the CJRO accomplished all that. Commencing the evening in its big band format with all 16 players charging in the same direction, then slimming down to a revolving quintet, then a septet, then reforming once again as a powerful big band. The show at Dazzle was promoted by the Denver Jazz Fest as its last stand-alone show before the full-blown fest in early April.
The theme for this show was a tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane, who were both born in 1926, 100 years ago for those keeping score. One reason for the use of smaller ensembles throughout the evening was simply because Davis and Coltrane most often worked in that format, particularly during the period from which the CJRO selected most of the tunes, the 1950s and 1960s. One exception to that rule was the inclusion of “Blues Minor,” a Coltrane tune from his album Africa/Brass (Impulse!, 1961), which was originally recorded with large ensembles.
Sax player Drew Zaremba is the musical director of the CJRO and acted as emcee for the evening, introducing the tunes and the soloists on each tune. Also in the sax section Sunday night was Art Bouton, the organization’s executive director, who founded the group in 2012. The band generally draws players from the broad talent pool in the Denver area and welcomes guests from around the country. One of Sunday night’s players included trumpeter Shane Endsley, based in Denver, but a member of Kneebody and Invisible Bird. Many members have albums under their own names, including saxman John Gunther, pianist Tom Amend, and trombonist Altin Sencalar. Many members are on the faculty of area universities.
The highlight of the evening was Coltrane’s “Impressions.” For this one, the band lined up four tenor sax players who played transcribed Coltrane solos in unison to very powerful effect. Then, three would step back, allowing the fourth player to improvise on his own. After the first solo, the four took up another Coltrane solo in unison, followed by another solo from another one of the players, and so on until all four tenors put their own stamp on one of Coltrane’s greatest compositions. The concept was modeled after a similar four tenor performance from 1997, which featured Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Joshua Redman, and George Garzone as the four tenor players. The performance occurred at the Newport Jazz Festival’s Live by the Sea ’97.
Throughout the evening, the CJRO brought the power that only a big band can. Sure, rock bands can be loud, but anybody can turn their guitar amp to 11. The power from the CJRO came not just from the volume, but also from the interplay of 16 musicians all moving in the same direction as a single living, breathing organism. Of course, being a jazz band, the arrangements left plenty of room for soloing; with this many top-flight musicians, the variety of solos and fresh ideas seemed endless.
Throughout the evening, the CJRO brought the power that only a big band can. Sure, rock bands can be loud, but anybody can turn their guitar amp to 11. The power from the CJRO came not just from the volume, but also from the interplay of 16 musicians all moving in the same direction as a single living, breathing organism. Of course, being a jazz band, the arrangements left plenty of room for soloing; with this many top-flight musicians, the variety of solos and fresh ideas seemed endless.
The smaller ensemble numbers, such as “Seven Steps to Heaven” and “Blue in Green,” showed the same no-holds-barred playing and continually creative solos. The CJRO maintains a steady concert schedule as both a big band and with various configurations of its smaller bands.
Large, small, or in between, the CJRO proved to be a top-flight, truly professional-grade jazz ensemble and state-of-the-art playing.
Set List
All Blues
Blues Minor
Boplicity
Seven Steps to Heaven
Blue in Green
Impressions
Big Nick
Central Park West
Airegin
The Band
Woodwinds
Drew Zaremba - alto 1
Art Bouton - alto 2
John Gunther - tenor 1
David Bernot - tenor 2
Pete Lewis – baritone sax
Trumpets
Jake Boldman
Ben Paille
Dawn Kramer
Shane Endsley
Trombones
Zach Rich
Altin Sencalar
Jon Gauer
John Mathews
Rhythm Section
Tom Amend, piano
Eric Hitt, bass
Alejandro Castaño, drums
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