Klaus Gesing, Ana Pilat & Latvian Radio Big Band - Song and Dance (2024) [Hi-Res]

"When I started reimagining the tunes I had composed for Trio or Quartet settings for a larger ensemble, I realised this would inevitably limit the improvisational freedom of each player. I also thought that abandoning the idea for this reason would be like comparing apples and oranges--the small ensemble, with its intimacy and full improvisational freedom, and the large jazz ensemble, with its rich palette of colours, interwoven melodies, and dynamic grandeur, are simply two distinct ways to express music, like changing the dress for a different occasion. And so, I began to sew a new wardrobe for the Songs and Dances on this recording.

Three main elements thread through the compositions and arrangements of this collection. Firstly, the presence of irregular time signatures. The fact that some tunes on this CD are written in metres of 5/4, 11/8, 7/4, 15/4, or 17/8 is not a deliberate choice of mine. The way these odd metres slightly alter the passing of time--or at least the way I perceive it--inspires me and leads me on a search for a particular state of rhythmic and melodic flow that ultimately lets the concept of time signature itself lose its importance.

Secondly, I am captivated by the magic that happens when a melody is accompanied by words: lyrics seem to emancipate a melody from the composer's original intent; what has been a tune becomes a song, with a life of its own.

And thirdly, I am fascinated with textures, with the changing colours of intertwining wind instruments--the human breath at the source of the sound we hear--and the harmonic and rhythmic authority of the wind ensemble in conjunction with the rhythm section." - Klaus Gesing