Serenely beautiful...the intricacy, detail and innovation of Gailloreto's writing evoked the sense of a chamber orchestra.
Chicago saxophonist Jim Gailloreto's "The Pythiad" is a multi-movement composition written for voice, string quartet, soprano saxophone and string bass, performed by his Jazz String Quintet and featuring jazz vocalist Cheryl Wilson. Blending classical music and modern jazz, Gailloreto interweaves improvisation with skilled post-impressionistic modernist writing through nine movements, each framing the tales of lesser know Greek heroes with contemporary language, metaphors, and slang; their story being transformed for a modern audience. Old myths are mixed with tropes of '80s action cinema, video games, disaster films, as well as the lyricist's perspectives of medicine, athletics, gender and faith. Through story and song, each movement examines human nature and heroism, and all the imperfections underneath the surface.
Track Listing:
THE PYTHIAD | JIM GAILLORETO, lyrics: COLEMAN GAILLORETO
1. I ORACLE OF DELPHI | 4:14
2. II CAENEUS | 5:41
3. III DEUCALION & PYRRHA | 7:51
4. IV MENOECEUS | 4:24
5. V AUTOLYCUS | 7:29
6. VI ASCLEPIUS | 5:19
7. VII ATALANTA | 4:10
8. VIII PHILEMON AND BAUCIS | 5:41
9. IX DIOSCURI | 6:59
10. RIVER | JONI MITCHELL | 6:37
11. THREE VIEWS OF A SECRET | JACO PASTORIUS | 5:54
12. THE PEACOCKS | JIMMY ROWLES | 5:50
Performers:
Jim Gailloreto - soprano saxophone
Cheryl Wilson - vocals
Carmen Kassinger - violin
Lisa Fako - violin
Loretta Gillespie - viola
Jill Kaeding - cello
Christian Dillingham - double bass
Cliff Colnot - arrangements (10,11,12)
Production Info:
Produced by Carey Deadman & Tom Matta
Engineered by Jim Massoth at Tone Zone Recording, Chicago, IL
and Crystall Recorders, Lombard, IL
Recorded on August 3,4,11,17, 2016
Mastered by Danny Leake at Urban Guerrilla Engineers, Chicago, IL
Photographs by S. Connell, P. Kirichenko, Li Hui Chen, NemesisINC
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of The Pythiad
Midwest Record (Chris Spector)
Take some lesser Greek mythology, mix it with some 50s flavored jazz into classical and you get a modern thing that sounds like it could be equally at home with the art minded or as a diversion for kids almost ala "Peter & the Wolf". Not exactly something you'd expect to be coming out of Chicago, this is a wild and wonderful set that exists in a t ...
Performing Arts Review (Daniel Kepl )
Gailloreto's refreshingly original jazz suite imagines gods and heroes getting their beads read by the Oracle of Delphi
Chicago-based composer and jazz saxophonist Jim Gailloreto hit on the idea for his latest CD during a gig at the Getty Villa in Santa Monica a few years back. The Villa is itself a replica of an ancient Roman country house. St ...
All Music Guide (James Manheim)
Certainly one of 2017's more offbeat releases, The Pythiad refers not to Pythias, wife of Aristotle, but to the Pythia, the high priestess of the oracle at Delphi. Here, in the singing and speech of Cheryl Wilson, she recounts the stories of some of the lesser-known figures of ancient Greek mythology, functioning as a kind of psychotherapist figure ...
Chicago Jazz Magazine (Editor)
Saxophonist and composer Jim Gailloreto is known for his inventive genre fusions. The nine-piece suite The Pythiad is no exception. Inspired by lesser-known heroes of Greek mythology, it features vocalist Cheryl Wilson's charismatic singing and Coleman Gailloreto's intriguing poetry. The lyrics are a mix of couplets and free verse, and are a super ...
