Theme for Monterey

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Los Angeles-based bandleader Gerald Wilson has been a perennial favorite for decades, earning a litany of composition awards and three Grammy nominations. He's also been a recurring fave of the Monterey Jazz Festival, appearing in 1963 as one of Jimmy Lyons's pet projects and then again leading a Jimi Lunceford tribute band in 1975 and, in 1976, offering a commissioned 20th-anniversary piece, the "Happy Birthday Monterey Suite." So this musical homage to the festival on its 40th anniversary has a long history. Wilson's 45-minute suite is built around a 40-bar ascending theme that gets played at a variety of paces, from the sultry "Romance" to the speedy "Cookin' on Cannery Row." His band plays with a heap of harmonic precision, capturing each nuance as Wilson sought to demonstrate the ensemble's crack capacity for agile subtlety at any speed. This is music that speaks dually to long-form composition and to the task of taking the complexity of orchestration and distilling it into potent doses. To demonstrate Wilson's distilling ability beyond his large-scale works, check out his takes on "Summertime" and "Anthropology" premiered at the Library of Congress as they began archiving the bandleader's works. --Andrew Bartlett

Jazz Times
Theme for Monterey [is] a suite of five variations on the eponymous theme, 40 bars (AABBA) with an attractively dark bridge. Throughout, Wilson's dense orchestrations hinge on sharp accents and grand sweep and provide surging support for strong solos.

Theme for Monterey

Theme for Monterey, Music, Gerald Wilson, Big Band, Hard Bop, Jazz, Jazz Music, Pop, Traditional Pop

Average customer rating:

a master musician

For a concept CD this one blows smooth sounds.

Theme for Monterey
Gerald Wilson
Manufacturer: Mama Jazz Foundation
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Traditional & Vocal Pop | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B0000060JH
Release Date: 1998-03-24

Tracks:

Theme For Monterey: Romance
Theme For Monterey: Lyons' Roar
Theme For Monterey: The Lone Cypress
Theme For Monterey: Spanish Bay
Theme For Monterey: Cookin' On Cannery Row
Summertime
Anthropology

Amazon.com

Los Angeles-based bandleader Gerald Wilson has been a perennial favorite for decades, earning a litany of composition awards and three Grammy nominations. He's also been a recurring fave of the Monterey Jazz Festival, appearing in 1963 as one of Jimmy Lyons's pet projects and then again leading a Jimi Lunceford tribute band in 1975 and, in 1976, offering a commissioned 20th-anniversary piece, the "Happy Birthday Monterey Suite." So this musical homage to the festival on its 40th anniversary has a long history. Wilson's 45-minute suite is built around a 40-bar ascending theme that gets played at a variety of paces, from the sultry "Romance" to the speedy "Cookin' on Cannery Row." His band plays with a heap of harmonic precision, capturing each nuance as Wilson sought to demonstrate the ensemble's crack capacity for agile subtlety at any speed. This is music that speaks dually to long-form composition and to the task of taking the complexity of orchestration and distilling it into potent doses. To demonstrate Wilson's distilling ability beyond his large-scale works, check out his takes on "Summertime" and "Anthropology" premiered at the Library of Congress as they began archiving the bandleader's works. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

a master musician.......2000-05-19

You cannot get any better than the arrangements/ orchestrations of Gerald Wilson. His work is complex and academic yet sweet and soulful.

For a concept CD this one blows smooth sounds........1999-01-15

In the era where big bands have made a big comeback in popularity, Gerald Wilson Orchestra in this CD represents just about the best jazz has to offer. They provide the ebb and flow of fascinating harmonics and rhythmic patterns that ultimately give the suite a focus and continuity. This concept album truly exceeds the expectations I had and blows some beautiful stuff.

Music: