Spooky Actions
Featuring:
John Gunther—Soprano Saxophone, Bruce Arnold—Electric Guitar, Tony
Moreno—Drums
David Phillips—Bass, Aaron Jackson—Piano
Spooky Actions (led by John Gunther and Bruce Arnold) is back
with their unique take on the "Quartet for the End of Time" (MSK 128)
one of the most popular pieces of 20th century classical music.
Noted for applying jazz improvisational and textural techniques to
non-jazz repertoire, Spooky Actions has so far charted new territory
with Early Music, Native American Music, the music of the 2nd Viennese
School, and now, the work of Olivier Messiaen. In this recording the
ensemble has been expanded to accommodate an arrangement for Jazz
Quintet. The lineup is: John Gunther on soprano saxophone, Bruce Arnold
on electric guitar, Tony Moreno on drums, David Phillips on upright
bass, and Aaron Jackson on piano.
The Quartet was started while Messiaen was in the French army, and
completed while he was a prisoner of war in a German Stalag. It is his
first and most famous work wherein he integrated his deep knowledge of
bird song into his compositions. He was known to rise before dawn in
order to hear the first calls and chattering of the local flocks, to
steep himself in sounds that were endlessly fascinating to him, and he
claimed to be able to identify fifty different patterns specific to
European species. The songs, particularly those of nightingales and
blackbirds, transported this devout Catholic, and enabled him to imbue
the Quartet with grandeur, despair --and hope.
The Quartet presented specific challenges to musicians then and now,
written as it was for the specific virtuosos that Messiaen was interned
with. The famous 3rd Movement " Abyss of the Birds" calls for
exceptional prowess on the part of any clarinet player (or in this
case, soprano saxophone), and transferring cello parts to the upright
bass calls for a musician with unusual mastery of that larger, less
agile instrument. The addition of drums to the palette of the piece
(which is not scored for any percussion) calls for a touch that is
exceptionally subtle.
As they have with other classical pieces, Spooky Actions states the
original work as written, and then uses that as a jumping off point for
improvisation (they have done this with Movements 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7).
This requires unusual skill and theoretical understanding of the
composition, and as always, Spooky Actions delivers thoughtful and
insightful work.
The name Spooky Actions derives from a quote by Albert Einstein
describing the mysterious ability of two distant and seemingly
unrelated objects to exert an effect on one another. In this CD, Spooky
Actions, proves that the relationship between modern classical music
and modern jazz is not as "spooky" as most people might think.
Here are two audio selections from this CD. They are provided here as MP3 files.
Quartet for the End of Time—$12.99
Item#: msk-128
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