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Joe Sample & the NDR Big Band Orchestra: Children of the Sun
BySeductive rhythms of the Caribbean predominate (especially early on) and are superbly managed by drummer par excellence Steve Gadd and the ensemble. This represents a slight departure for Sample, who wasn't widely known as a composer of Latin themes, but the genre suits him well. The NDR Big Band, for its part, proves again that music is a universal language, warmly embracing Sample's free-flowing West Indian-cum-jazz essays and bringing them emphatically to life. The enterprise is saliently enriched by Sample's lithe and swinging piano (he solos perceptively on five numbers) and the clear-eyed trombone of a second guest artist, Nils Landgren, who brightens the invigorating opener, "I Wanna Go Home," reappears midway through the album, on "Gold in the Cane," and solos on every number thereafter save one, "Creole Eyes." He is especially engaging on the slower-paced "Children of the Sun" and "Blue Abyss."
Trombonists Dan Gottshall, Klaus Heidenreich and Stefan Lotterman add brief solos on "Blue Abyss," as do bass trombonist Ingo Lahme and tenor saxophonist Sebastian Gille. Heidenreich is out front again, this time with tenor Frank Delle and trumpeter Ingolf Burkhardt, on the undulating "Creole Eyes." Alto Peter Bolte shares blowing space with Sample on "Buttermilk Sky" (not to be confused with the Hoagy Carmichael standard of that name), while flugel Claus Stotter does the same on "Islands of the Mind" and "Rumfire" (on which tenor Gille also solos). "I Believe In" is an even-tempered samba with self-assured solos by Landgren, Delle (soprano), Burkhardt, flugel Fiete Felsch and clarinetist Lutz Buchner.
Whether Sample reached his goal is beside the point (thematic music is invariably subjective). What matters most is that he has produced a commendable album of Caribbean-style jazz, proficiently performed by the NDR Big Band Orchestra, thus further amplifying Sample's already impressive legacy.
Track Listing
I Wanna Go Home; Buttermilk Sky; Islands of the Mind; Rumfire; Gold in the Cane (intro); Gold in the Cane; I Believe In; Children of the Sun; Blue Abyss; Creole Eyes; Albatross Day.
Personnel
Joe Sample
pianoJoe Sample: composer, piano, Fender Rhodes; Jorg Achim Keller: conductor, arranger; Nils Landgren: solo trombone; Thorsten Berkenstein: trumpet, flugelhorn; Ingolf Burkhardt: trumpet, flugelhorn; Claus Stotter: trumpet, flugelhorn; Reiner Winterschladen: trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 3-6, 9, 10); Dirk Lentschat: trumpet, flugelhorn (2, 7, 8, 11); Fiete Felsch: alto, soprano sax, flute, piccolo flute, clarinet; Peter Bolte: alto sax, flute, clarinet; Sebastian Gille: tenor sax, clarinet; Frank Delle: tenor sax, flute, clarinet (1, 4-6, 9, 10), baritone sax, bass clarinet, soprano sax (2, 3, 7, 8, 11); Bjorn Berger: baritone sax, bass clarinet, soprano sax (1, 4-6, 9, 10); Lutz Buchner: clarinet, bass clarinet (7); Gabriel Coburger: tenor sax, flute, clarinet (2, 3, 7, 8, 11); Dan Gottshall: trombone; Klaus Heidenreich: trombone; Stefan Lotterman: trombone; Ingo Lahme: bass trombone; Stephan Dietz: guitar (1, 2, 4-6, 10, 11); Ingmar Heller: bass; Steve Gadd: drums; Marcio Doctor: percussion (1-8, 11).
Album information
Title: Children of the Sun | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: PRA Records