Record Reviews

CONCEPT ART ORCHESTRA ~ BIGBANDTRONICS (SIX MOVEMENTS OF SONIFICATION) RADIOSERVIS 0597 (Barcode: 8590236059726) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Big Band Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2012 This is the second album by Czech Big Band called Concept Art OrchestraFind albums by this artist, founded in 2010 and currently led by trumpeter / composer Stepanka BalcarovaFind albums by this artist. On this album the Big Band is conducted by American (resident in Germany) musician / composer / arranger Ed PartykaFind albums by this artist and incorporates two members of the German nuBoxFind albums by this artist trio, bassist Alois KottFind albums by this artist and drummer Peter EisoldFind albums by this artist, who co-composed the six original compositions arranged by Partyka, presented on the album. The music is a rather strange amalgam of Big Band Jazz and electronic / trance music, which despite the obvious effort to create a unified concept, remains an experiment rather than a convincing concept. Of course experimentation is an important element in Art in general and in music in particular, but there is no guarantee it will work effectively, and this album is one of such examples. Of course the Big Band plays marvelously and all the members are first class instrumentalist, but the music simply does not stick together very well and the complex arrangements don’t manage to create a coherent whole of the Jazz elements and the electronic ones. At times the music sounds somewhat like Free Jazz, at other like Circus music, but mostly it simply makes no convincing statement at all. I am very happy to have discovered the Concept Art Orchestra via their later albums with music composed by the Prague Six, which are all absolutely brilliant. This album remains as an example of their excellent musicianship but is very far from depicting their magnificent work as a Big Band with proper music to perform.

Updated: 05/02/2023Posted: 30/04/2021

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