...they've sculpted another blue-chip album of persuasive big-band jazz.
Secular Breathing is the long-awaited third CD by the Jim Knapp Orchestra. One of the most respected composer/arrangers on the west coast, Knapp's concept of ensemble music started at a high level and has evolved in the intervening 25 years to a uniquely identifiable sound. Like Duke Ellington and Gil Evans, he tends to combine instruments in ways that create textures infrequently encountered in big band music. Woodwind doubles and French horn suggest symphonic winds at times, but there's also a quirky, understated humor that reveals his playful wit.
Track Listing:
1. Kennewick, Man 5:45
2. Combos in Indiana 6:44
3. Moon and Sand 11:16
4. G, Baby 7:03
5. Nanna's Lied 6:00
6. Secular Breathing 5:14
7. Home 6:40
8. Buddha Bang 4:56
9. Kreuzberg Soliloquy 9:33
10. Laura Mae's Getaway 7:51
Performers:
JIM KNAPP ORCHESTRA:
Jim Knapp - Composer, Conductor
Mark Taylor - Soprano, Alto & Tenor Saxophones, Flute
Saul Cline - Soprano, Alto & Tenor Saxophones
Rob Davis - Tenor Saxophone
Greg Metcalf - Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet
Brad Allison, Ingrid Jensen, Jack Halsey - Trumpets , Flugelhorns
Karen Halsey - French Horn
Jeff Hay - Trombone
Greg Schroeder - Bass Trombone
John Hansen - Piano
Phil Sparks - Bass
Jon Wikan - Drums
Production Info:
Engineer: PAUL WICKLIFFE
Producer: KIM RICHMOND
Mixed by: PAUL WICKLIFFE & JIM KNAPP
Mastered at Seattle Disc Mastering by MARK GUENTHER
Recorded February 1-3, 2002 at STUDIO X, Seattle
Photographs by TODD BISHOP
Cover design & layout by JOHN BISHOP/OriginArts
Reviews of Secular Breathing
Muses Muse (Ben Ohmart)
This reviewer has had a favorite jazz label for a while now. I don't care what re-releases MCA and the big boys may come out with. Give me Origin Records and their constantly updated catalog every time. New material. Hot, or smooth, or big sound. Doesn't matter. Whoever makes the decisions about what gets sent to stores is a jazz lover. You can tel ...
All About Jazz (Jack Bowers)
The cleverly titled Secular Breathing is the third recording by composer/arranger Jim Knapp's Seattle-area orchestra and arguably the best to date, thanks to Knapp's handsome and provocative charts, the presence of guest trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and the return of former JKO drummer Jon Wikan, who now lives in New York City. Knapp's richly textured a ...
All Music Guide (Adam Greenburg)
This is a somewhat grandiose outing of big band jazz from the composing hands of Jim Knapp. A collective of Seattle jazz players -- as well as a couple alums that had wandered to New York -- were called together for the sake of the album. The basic sound that's created here isn't necessarily what one would think of upon hearing the term "big band." ...
Mainly Big Bands ()
Mark this web-site well as it not only includes some outstanding big bands now, but future releases look promising too. It seems that the Seattle area is rich in talent, a fact that has encouraged ORIGIN RECORDS to allow their label to be the shop window for the local area talent.
I must admit that I was not too familiar with the work of Jim Kna ...
Jazz Dimensions (Germany) (Tobias Richtsteig)
(Translation)
In Seattle, in the northwest of the USA, a remarkable music scene flowers. The Grunge and Jimi Hendrix, also to jazz musicians such as Bill Frisell their homeland did not only find here. Trumpeter and Big band leader Jim Knapp seize its with the third album "Jim Knapp Orchestra" chamber-musical-complex aspects up, "Secular Breathing" ...
