Tony Kadleck's "Around the Horn"

[Larry Kart]

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tonykadleckbigband

Excellent big band album, remarkably subtle "between the cracks" writing by Kadleck, ballsy at times but none of those obligatory shout choruses, handsomely recorded, fine drum work by the late Dave Ratajczak, soloists include the leader, Randy Brecker, altoist Andy Snitzer, trombonist Michael Davis (very impressive), tenorman Jason Rigby, and others. Anyone who likes, say, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra should enjoy this.

A particular highlight -- and I kind of gulp when saying this, given the song's icky Marilyn and Alan Bergman lyric and its associations -- is Kadleck's feature on "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" His chart on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" is another gem.

[JSngry]

How is it recorded?

I ask because the way of recording big bands where the detail is intense to the point of destroying the total ensemble blends is something that has long bugged me. The Ryan Truesdell Gil Evans Centennial album shows that it's possible to have both, but damn, that took long enough to figure out, ya' know?

And I hear you about "those obligatory shout choruses"...

[Larry Kart]

How is it recorded?

I ask because the way of recording big bands where the detail is intense to the point of destroying the total ensemble blends is something that has long bugged me. The Ryan Truesdell Gil Evans Centennial album shows that it's possible to have both, but damn, that took long enough to figure out, ya' know?

And I hear you about "those obligatory shout choruses"...

It was recorded by Roy Hendrickson (new name to me) at MSR Studios in NYC in a rather detailed, close-up manner (maybe RVG-like?), not a whole lot of air around the sound, but it seems to me that a lot of care was taken to let the ensemble be an ensemble. Balances are very much just so -- I think that was mostly because of the players -- and the writing often calls for smallish "ensembles" to interact with the larger ensemble with a great deal of subtlety and fluidity. There's one passage on "What's Going On" where a gorgeous, semi-detached from the rest, slow-motion melody played by maybe trumpet and two reeds winds its way through the band like the ghost of a garter snake.

[Larry Kart]

Roy Hendrickson:

http://www.mixonline.com/mixline/avatar-hendrickson-yamaha-111807/