Suite for big band
- Label
- Indigo Records 1007 CD, 2007
- Recorded
- 1999/2007, 14 September, live recording
- Sound engineer
- Andi Reisner
15,– € incl. VAT, postage and packing
Tracks
- Part 1 (Featherdance)
- Part 2 (What passes, passes like clouds)
- Part 3 (Mulanga)
- Part 4 (Time Blues)
- Part 5 (Roma Termini)
To listen to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 5
Line-up
Reeds
- Heiner Wiberny as, ss
- Annette Grahe fl
- Kristina Brodersen as, fl
- Wolfgang Fuhr ts
- Francois Deribeaupierre bcl
- Martin Schäfer bs, bcl
Trumpets
- Martin Reuthner
- Frank Dulisch
- Matthias Bergmann
- Michael Kuhl
- Matthias Knoop
Trombones
- Michael Scheuermann
- Dietmar Kruse
- Klaus Heidenreich
- Achim Hartmann
Rhythm
- Pablo Held p
- Uli Brodersen git
- Konstantin Winstöer bass
- Roland Höppner dr
- Thomas Esch perc
About the compositions:
After the “Psalmen und Lobgesänge” for choir and jazz ensemble, the cycle “Pangäa” is Petzold’s second venture into composition on a large scale. Pangaea is the geological name for the great supercontinent from which today’s continents emerged. Whereas the Psalm settings took their cue from European church music and the form of the oratorio, “Pangäa” is inspired more by the long arcs of tension and the rich tonal colours of 19th-century symphonic music. In these compositions Petzold set out to exploit the full range and power of the big band sound and to draw on influences from different styles of music. To widen the palette of colours still further, he added flute, bass clarinet and percussion to the usual line-up.
Press
“A suite like a seething volcano … Musical layers and facets collide here; loud outbursts and fissures suddenly erupt from the silence like an earthquake or a volcano … The audience was thrilled and broke into storms of applause again and again.”
Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 17 September 2007
“Petzold drew on many sources for his composition: classic big band jazz merges with impressionist harmonies, with the blues and with African grooves into an adventure for the ears whose many layers can hardly be taken in at a first hearing. Despite the musical force generated by the woodwinds, trumpets and trombones, the individual movements sound astonishingly light and transparent.”
Kölnische Rundschau, 17 September 2007
Reviews of the premiere in June 1999:
“… With his compositions the young saxophonist found his way into the national jazz scene and won a positive response in the specialist press. His third work, ‘Pangäa’, will – one can say with some certainty – continue this run of success … Many-layered and rich in facets, ‘Pangäa’ lets the listener drift into exciting and thrilling territory. And for all its musical depth and breadth, the work never felt heavy. With every note ‘Pangäa’ wins you over with its swinging lightness and sheer joy in playing. The big band, reinforced by seven guest musicians, managed to bring out exactly these accents with astonishing quality. Christian Winninghoff on trumpet and flugelhorn and Marko Lackner on saxophone were especially impressive with their compelling expressiveness … The enthusiastic final applause in the courtyard of Brühl town hall showed that Matthias Petzold’s hope, voiced at the beginning, of showing the power and versatility of a big band with his composition had been fulfilled entirely.”
Kölnische Rundschau, June 1999
Petzold’s music strikes a balance between innovation and tradition; it delves into the store of what already exists and keeps bringing up fresh-sounding syntheses. What makes it so appealing is that it does without superficial effects and anything forced, and sounds relaxed and unstrained; add to that its communicative openness, which fits well with Petzold’s democratic, anti-elitist idea of jazz.”
Jazzpodium, September 1999