Artist: Metropolitan Jazz Octet
Album: The Bowie Project
Label: Origin Records
Year Of Release: 2023
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Tracklist:
01. Slow Burn
02. 5:15 The Angels Have Gone
03. Changes
04. Letter to Hermione
05. Space Oddity
06. Let’s Dance
07. Stay
08. Quicksand
09. I Would Be Your Slave
10. Conversation Piece
11. Life on Mars?
Personnel:
Metropolitan Jazz Octet:
Paul Marinaro – Vocals
John Kornegay – Alto Sax/Clarinet/Alto Flute
Jim Gailloreto – Tenor Sax/Soprano Sax/Flute
Peter Brusen – Baritone Sax/Bass Clarinet/Bassoon
Doug Scharf – Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Russ Phillips – Trombone
Bob Sutter – Piano (1-3,5-7,10-11)
Ben Lewis – Piano (4,8,9)
Mike Freeman – Vibes (1,3,5-7,9-11), Marimba (11)
Doug Bistrow – Acoustic Bass
Bob Rummage – Drums/Percussion
Chicago’s Metropolitan Jazz Octet partners with the acclaimed vocalist Paul Marinaro to create an inspired tribute to the durability and pure magic of David Bowie’s songwriting legacy. Reinterpreting without replicating, due in no small part to Marinaro’s riveting vocals paired with creative arrangements, the octet palette reveals transparency and intimacy, coaxing nuanced colors more indicative of a larger orchestra, laying out an inventive complement to Bowie’s lyrics. The MJO was originally founded in the ’50s by saxophonist/arranger Tom Hilliard and documented first in 1959’s The Legend of Bix on Argo Records. Its re-awakening in 2014 by Hilliard’s former student, Jim Gailloreto, extends the rich legacy of Hilliard’s library of compositions and devotion to this elegant chamber ensemble.
