64.00 PLN

CD:

Nr kat.: PCD103
Label  : Prophone Records

Leonard Bernstein is a source of inspiration for me. This musical giant, conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and author, was born in 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts and died in 1990 in New York City. He is one of the truly great names in the history of American music. With a big heart that beat for western classical music, jazz and popular music, he always succeeded in creating his own personal music that was intelligent and exciting. He leaves behind a musical legacy that covers symphonies, chamber music, masses, operas, operettas and musicals, as well as numerous memorable moments from all over the world, whether on the conductor's podium or at the piano, interpreting the great masters. What strikes me particularly about Leonard Bernstein as a person was his engagement, enthusiasm and presence in everything he took part in. On the occasions in my career when I have come in contact with Leonard Bernstein and his music, my curiosity has been awakened. He remains for me a leading light, the perfect combination of a musical intellectual and an artistic soul. After two CD albums with the Peter Asplund Quartet: "Lochiel's Warning" (PCD 071) from 2004 and "As Knights Concur" (PCD 093) from 2008, in which we combined our own compositions with American standards, it is now time for an album with a specific theme and it feels quite natural to have chosen as that theme the music of Leonard Bernstein. The challenge to us as a jazz group is to succeed in playing Bernstein's music in our own way and thus even developing it for improvisation. It is now time for me to present my quartet, already a strongly knit unit, in a new light, this time together with a larger ensemble. For the purpose of interpreting Bernstein's music we chose to collaborate with a symphonic orchestra. Essential for the success of this exciting project was finding an arranger who was willing to work with Bernstein's music and the Peter Asplund Quartet. To discover the essence in Bernstein's music, bring out the jazz-oriented aspects, illuminate the special characteristics of the quartet and combine this in the most effective way with the symphony players, was the great challenge facing the arranger. The choice of arranger went to my good friend and trumpeter colleague, Mats Hĺlling. Mats was born in 1972 and grew up in Linköping. He began playing trumpet at the age of ten and has always had an interest in writing music. This began to develop during the time he was studying the trumpet at the Malmö College of Music during the years 1997-2001 and became more resolute when from 2002-2006 he was studying composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. In common with Bernstein, Mats is a composer and arranger whose work covers a very broad musical spectrum and he writes everything from modern classical music to arrangements for several Swedish popular artists. The final stage was to determine which would be a suitable symphony orchestra. Mats suggested Dalasinfoniettan, who fortunately were interested, were available and had the possibility of launching this project together with us. Dalasinfoniettan is the symphony orchestra of the Dalarna (Dalecarlia) region of Sweden and which makes up a section of the Musik i Dalarna regional organisation. It is a full-time professional ensemble consisting of 28 musicians and was formed in 1988. The reason that Dalasinfoniettan was the right orchestra with which to collaborate is best described by a quotation from out of the official presentation of the orchestra: "Our ambition is to be a many-sided, flexible and exciting orchestra with a broad program both in relation to the classical repertoire and in collaboration with musicians from other genres." A production of this musical scope demands a very experienced and allround producer. The obvious choice for this went to Pĺl Svenre. Pĺl was born in 1964 and grew up in Stockholm. After studies at the Royal College of Music in piano and teaching in the Afro-American line he works nowadays as a producer, keyboard player and arranger. Besides these he is also a sound engineer and is responsible for studio Unit 7. Pĺl's daily activities cover everything from pop and jazz to symphony orchestras, something that gave the work of recording the CD you are now holding the necessary feeling of security throughout the process. Leonard Bernstein and his music are intimately connected with New York, generally regarded as the greatest capital of the jazz world and the pulsating heart of America. All this energy now meets the soul of Sweden in the heart of Sweden - Dalarna. (Peter Asplund, January 2010) Peter Asplund - w naszej ofercie