The concert given by Schneider and the members of her orchestra on Saturday was, quite simply, wonderful. I would hate to use just one word to describe the music of Maria Schneider, but if I were forced to, I would probably use the word "lush." Schneider's compositions use both simple motives and complex countermelodies to create a moving, living piece of music that is astounding in its aural clarity and beauty.
From the first moment she stepped onstage, it was apparent that Schneider was very much in control of the orchestra, but the remarkable thing is that she balanced this control by giving the soloists a wide range of improvisational freedom, oftentimes removing the band entirely and allowing the soloist to improvise without orchestrated backgrounds to guide them. Strong performances were given by many of the soloists, including Ingrid Jensen on the flugelhorn, Ben Monder on guitar, Frank Kimbrough on piano, and the numerous and talented instrumentalists of the orchestra. Sometimes, Schneider's orchestrated backgrounds got in the way of some of the horn players' solos, but overall Schneider retained a solid level of control over the orchestra and the soloists.
The first set was composed mainly of tunes from the Orchestra's most recent album, "Concert in the Garden," winner of both a Grammy and the Down Beat Critics' Poll. The title number, which was played first, began on a slow three-note piano motif, with the accordion and the piano trading similar melodic lines. Soon, this melody was adopted in full by the orchestra, and with hints of Latin and samba mixed with the styles reminiscent of Aaron Copland, it made for a very interesting tune.
What followed was a three-song suite entitled "Three Romances." The first, "Choro Danado," mixed elements of Brazilian and Russian music to produce a lively melody -- one of the strongest and most memorable of the evening -- that developed a Spanish feel towards the end. The next movement, entitled "Pas de Deux," began with the dark and sorrowful tone of Jensen's flugelhorn and the skilled playing of reed player Charles Pillow on oboe. Schneider then deviated from the melody, taking the piece into a slow shuffle before returning to the original motif. The third movement, "Dana Ilusria," fused a Brazilian feel with a distinctly American swing-shuffle after a brooding solo transition between the second and third movements by pianist Kimbrough.
The highlight of the second set was definitely "The 'Pretty' Road," a piece co-commissioned by the Hopkins Center. The best way to describe "The 'Pretty' Road" is as a jazz tone poem. Schneider discussed the inspiration that her hometown provided for this piece, and appropriately the piece is filled with a beautiful array of constantly changing motifs. With another strong solo by Jensen and a wide range of melodious experimentation, "The 'Pretty' Road" was the strongest in a very good second set that also included "Turk's Cafe," a slow funk based on a truck stop, and "Hang Gliding," a lovely piece from one of Schneider's earlier albums that was similar in temperament to the first tunes of the evening.
It is virtually impossible to hear everything going on at certain points in Schneider's music; there are just too many ideas springing from her head. If you were to listen hard enough, you'd hear the shifting power of her melodies and progressions being passed from section to section of her orchestra. If the audience is a canvas, Schneider paints a picture with her compositions: The different sections of her orchestra are the paint. Oftentimes the emphasis would shift from the horn section to the rhythm section, and at other times, ideas would be tossed back and forth between the trumpets, trombones and saxophones.
The most exciting moments in her pieces, often built up from restrained iterations of her motives, happen when everything is moving at once, with every section doing something different. In the wrong hands, this kind of polyphonic motion can end up sounding confused and muddled. Luckily for us, Schneider's talents as an orchestrator allowed her ideas to be revealed to the audience clearly.
Ultimately, the most interesting aspect of Saturday's concert was Schneider's innate sense of melody, which was evident in each of the pieces played. Schneider took these melodic ideas from the soft, breezy touch of the accordion and gave them to the rest of the band to examine. With every passing repetition of the progression, there appeared another interesting melodic idea, and this allowed Schneider to dance around the chord progression of the theme -- all at once suggesting the initial melody and playing with numerous interesting rhythmic and melodic possibilities. She composes from her intuition, and with a true understanding of what sounds good, she is able to create these melodies with an extraordinary level of emotion. Though she draws from many influences (and she even studied with the great composer/arranger Gil Evans), she is one of few jazz composers today who creates a truly unique sound.
