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Awakening Orchestra
Interspersing original work - like the intricate, four-part, title-track symphony - with often radical interpretations of work by Samuel Barber, Radiohead, Johannes Brahms and Low, volume I: this is not the answer crafts a powerful mix of written and improvised material. Throughout, individual expressions of virtuosity blend seamlessly with Kyle Saulnier’s ever-shifting orchestral textures, and the Awakening Orchestra’s eight years of performing experience come through in the nuanced yet strongly-defined ensemble concept that threads through the record.
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The Awakening Orchestra: Volume II: To Call Her to a Higher Plan
by Angelo Leonardi
Tra gli orchestratori e bandleader emersi di recente Kyle Saulnier è uno dei più interessanti. Il suo esordio con l'Awakening Orchestra nel doppio This Is Not the Answer (Innova 2014) ha rappresentato una sorprendente rivelazione per padronanza di scrittura e spregiudicata sintesi di elementi diversi, inclusi il free e il rock. Con un taglio espressivo un po' diverso, il successivo Atticus Live! (Biophilia 2016) ha confermato la versatilità del leader nel coniugare altri mondi musicali (ovvero le musiche ...
read moreAwakening Orchestra: Atticus Live!
by Jack Bowers
Sorry. If this is the direction in which big-band jazz is moving, please apply the brakes as quickly and gently as possible so that this listener may exit the train. When it comes to big bands, some members of an older generation cling to standards that must always be upheld. Not swinging is from time to time a forgivable sin, depending on the circumstances; plodding erratically forward with a minimum of charm and no clear purpose in mind is less ...
read moreAwakening Orchestra: Interlude: Atticus Live!-The Music of Jesse Lewis
by Karl Ackermann
On the heals of the excellent debut This Is Not the Answer, Vol 1 (Innova Recordings, 2014), composer/conductor Kyle Saulnier leaves the writing credits to featured guitarist/composer Jesse Lewis on Interlude: Atticus Live!-The Music of Jesse Lewis. Not a regular member of Saulnier's Awakening Orchestra, Lewis had recorded each of these tracks on his similarly named Atticus (Self-Produced, 2008). Saulnier was intrigued by the notion of recreating these tunes with his twenty-piece jazz orchestra and set about to capture that ...
read moreAwakening Orchestra: Vol. 1: This Is Not the Answer
by Angelo Leonardi
Questo debutto di Kyle Saulnier è uno dei lavori orchestrali più ricchi e appassionanti degli ultimi anni, paragonabile per fantasia e freschezza a Infernal Machine, il disco d'esordio di Darcy James Argue. Compositore e polistrumentista, Saulnier è nato nel Connecticut, ha studiato composizione alla Berklee e alla Manhattan School of Music e risiede da anni nel Bronx, New York. Per quasi sette anni ha scritto e provato partiture con questa formazione -dando sporadici concerti in locali decentrati-e dopo ...
read moreAwakening Orchestra: Vol. 1: This Is Not the Answer
by Karl Ackermann
Connecticut native Kyle Saulnier is both a life-long student and a working teacher of jazz. The multi-instrumentalist and composer leads the 20-piece Awakening Orchestra's debut, This Is Not the Answer and it is as rare an achievement as Carla Bley's historic Escalator Over The Hill (ECM, 1971). The latter work--more jazz-operetta in orientation and prescribed in its thematic flow--nevertheless shares many similar elements and the Awakening Orchestra has created no less of a monumental event. Subtitled, “Of Conflict ...
read moreALL ABOUT JAZZ “[A]s rare an achievement as Carla Bley's historic Escalator Over The Hill (ECM, 1971). The latter work—more jazz-operetta in orientation and prescribed in its thematic flow—nevertheless shares many similar elements and the Awakening Orchestra has created no less of a monumental event. … The title track is a four- part suite and nothing short of a masterpiece. Saulnier's challenging score embraces the diverse families of instruments that make up the Awakening Orchestra. Each of the four movements has a unique personality, drama and subtle beauty that that approaches an altered musical realm without overreaching. … [The] versatility within This Is Not the Answer is exceptional and while the individual pieces can sound episodic at first listen they later gel in a holistic way. … This Is Not the Answer is tour-de-force and one of the best albums of the year.” —Karl Ackermann
