Music For Nonet And Strings - Chamber Songs

SSC1254 2010-05-04

Track List

The River - 3:47
Interlude - 2:26
Paradox - 9:30
Magnolia - 6:25
Fables - 7:28
Ice Cave - 7:05
Union Blues - 7:55
Sedona - 10:40
In - 7:56

Musicians

Alan Ferber - trombone
Scott Wendholt - trumpet
Jon Gordon - saxophone
John Ellis - tenor saxophone
Douglas Yates - bass clarinet
Nate Radley - guitar
Bryn Roberts - piano
Matt Clohesy - bass- acoustic
Mark Ferber - drums
J. C. Sanford - string quintet

The nonet format holds a special place in jazz.
The format produces the wide array of voices and colors of a big band, while maintaining the tight, quicksilver unity of a small ensemble. Miles Davis and Gil Evans put the format on the map with their historic 1948-50 Birth of the Cool recordings. The Oakland, CA-born, New York-based trombonist/composer/bandleader Alan Ferber – one of the scene’s most in-demand session players, as evidenced by his work with Charlie Hunter, Kenny Wheeler, and Diana Krall – has advanced the nonet forward into the twenty-first century with his own nine-piece aggregation. His Sunnyside debut, Chamber Songs, is his latest installment in the evolution of the genre, with the augmentation of strings, inspired by his cellist wife.
The nonet, featuring tenor saxophonist John Ellis, guitarist Nate Ratley, and bass clarinetist Douglas Yates, and augmented by a fluid and formidable string ensemble conducted by J.C. Sanford, unveils nine selections that sonically symbolize a true marriage of notes and tones in complete harmony.