Jim McNeely & Frankfurt Radio Bigband - Barefoot Dances and Other Visions (2017)

Barefoot Dances and Other Visions is a seven-part suite composed in 2014 for the Frankfurt Radio Big Band. Each piece expresses a different kind of fantasy. We performed it live in two concerts in Frankfurt February 14, then recorded it in the studio in September of that year. When I wrote this music I had been working with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band for about six years, so I knew the players quite well. The suite was written so that every one of the band s soloists is placed in a framework that would be both familiar and challenging. Each piece features a pair of soloists, playing individually, sometimes together. Several of the pieces begin with a chamber-sized group, in front of the curtain . Then the curtain rises to reveal the whole band, having assumed yet another formation. Bob s Here imagines the return of composer/trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, who died in 2011. Black Snow conjures up the vision of a normally tranquil scene, still tranquil but rendered improbably dark. Barefoot Dances are just that, something I ve never actually done in my life. A Glimmer of Hope tries its best to be optimistic, a difficult task these days. Redman Rides Again imagines the return of the arranger/reedman Don Redman. Among other things he was known for writing fantastic clarinet trios. This piece features a real clarinet trio, and a second trio formed by Oliver Leicht and his harmonized clarinet. Falling Upwards: try as I may, I still find it impossible. The Cosmic Hodge-Podge offers a vision of the cosmos where galaxies are replaced by blocks of sound; super novas become solo explosions; and a single black hole emerges at the end, emitting just a smidgen of light.