Chamber Jazz

By Will CafaroOctober 31st, 2011Blogs

Trombonist/bandleader/educator Alan Ferber is one of the most prolific performers and composers on the modern music scene today. A special blend of sideman and leader, Ferber splits his time and creative energies between multiple musical endeavors. Whether it be playing in Broadway pits, holding a chair in John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble, backing up pop royalty like Harry Connick Jr. or Sufjian Stevens, Alan has been credited on over eighty albums and has somehow managed to grace the world with four albums of his own.

Ferber made his solo debut in 2001 with Playground, which was scored for septet, and followed up in 2005 and 2007 with two groundbreaking albums for nonet (if you’re keeping score at home: that’s scored for nine pieces). Scenes from an Exit Row and The Compass earned Ferber major notoriety in the modern compositional world. With his most recent release, Chamber Songs, Ferber blends and pushes the traditional jazz nonet with the addition of a 9-piece string section, further exploring the developing “jazz-chamber” aesthetic.

In poetic, chamber fashion, the album commences with an overture-like arrangement of Keith Jarrett’s composition “The River,” which then tributaries into the piano driven “Interlude”, a meditative piece with soaring, rubato horns and droning jaw harp. Displaying both his versatility as a composer as well as his broad range of influences, Ferber pulls the listener to different dimesions and realms of the jazz universe. The eerie, programmatic free improvisations of “Ice Cave” and the hard swinging dissonance of “Union Blues” paint contrasting landscapes all while accenting Ferber’s unique style and identity. “Magnolia” and “Sedona” feature Alan’s subtle yet intense lead trombone playing all the meanwhile showcasing his delicate, lyrical style.

Dedicated to the true spirit of ensemble playing, band members Jon Gordon and Byrn Roberts both contribute original works for the ensemble. “Paradox,” the hard-driving, rhythmic fantasy with call and response improvisations was penned by soprano and alto saxophonist Gordon while pianist Roberts contributed the uplifting, 6/8 lyrical-tale of “Fables.” Book-ending the album with an “Alan Ferber special,” he arranges another acapella version of Ben Monder’s composition “In Memoriam” (an arrangement of Monder’s “Luteous Pangolin” appeared on The Compass).

Earning both the critic’s and reader’s polls in Down Beat magazine for his trombone playing while also earning a spot on “Down Beat’s best CD’s of 2010,” Ferber continues to make a deep impression in the modern jazz world. He has also been a dedicated educator, holding teaching jobs at multiple musical institutes including Peabody Conservatory, Montclair State University and was recently appointed to the jazz studies faculty at NYU.

You can find out more about Alan Ferber at http://www.alanferber.com/.