Saying ‘alto saxophone and strings’ to even casual jazz fans will likely have them mentioning Charlie Parker’s immortal Charlie Parker with Strings. To many who play the alto sax that album is sacred turf. Yet this millennium has a lesser-known but highly acclaimed alto sax and strings pairing, Jim Snidero’s Strings, originally issued by Milestone in 2003 and now, after a decade out of print, remastered and reissued by Savant to commemorate its first planned recording date, the fateful 9/11/2001. (Note that you rarely if ever see that dreadful date spelled out). The album features Snidero’s arrangements for jazz quartet and 10-piece string ensemble, rehearsed on 9/10/01, scheduled for recording the next day in Brooklyn, obviously postponed, but ultimately resulting in a masterpiece for both those and these times. Co-produced by Bob Belden, conducted by Walt Weiskopf, this is the first time this recording is available in CD and digital formats. The story behind the album is as remarkable as the gorgeous, lyrical music that lies within.
While some band members had made it to the Brooklyn studio that morning for the recording session, others were stuck in transit so Snidero’s arrangements, so carefully rehearsed by the core quartet and string section the previous day, were indefinitely put on hold. Given the enormity of the event, it took a while for the musicians to gather the wherewithal to do the recording, which eventually took place, with no follow-up rehearsal preceding it, on October 25, with a second session on November 13. The album is a mix of Snidero originals and standards, but it took on unexpected gravitas given the events surrounding its birth. The project presented a new challenge for Snidero, mainly in the art of string arrangements, with assistance provided by his arranging teacher and fellow saxophonist Mark Lopeman, as well as fellow saxophonist and session conductor Walt Weiskopf. The latter memorized the music, didn’t need to look at the scores, and had the strings play it loosely and (pardon the cliché) in the moment.
Six of these eight tracks are Snidero’s, including his homage to the Hudson River, “River Suite,” in three parts. His core quartet is pianist Renee Rosnes, (who coincidentally released her own new album last week, Kinds of Love, also covered on these pages), bassist Paul Gill, and drummer Billy Drummond. The string section is comprised of violinist Laura Seaton, Mark Feldman, Joyce Hammann, Cenovia Cummings, Paul Woodiel, and Sue Lorentsen; violists Ralph Farris and Kenji Bunch, and cellists Tomas Ulrich and Mary Wooten.
This also gave Snidero an opportunity to enhance the original 2001 tracks in places, and he added the bowed bass of David Finck, who adds color to “Dawn,” the intro of “Theme for Ernie,” the interlude section near the end of “Forever Gone,” and the intro of “Ventura.” Keep in mind that the string arrangements presented an immense challenge at first but eased as Snidero consulted his prime influences Clare Fischer, Claus Ogerman, and Eddie Sauter for tempo, feeling, and form. “Slipping Away,” the opener is in a modern ¾ swing vein with Snidero soaring on the alto while in his flute driven “On the Bank” (Part 2 of “The River Suite”) Latin rhythms begin to emerge as well as a terrific Rosnes solo. She delivers another stunning turn on the breezy, McCoy Tyner-esque “Ventura.”
The suite’s first movement, “Dawn” has his alto alone with the strings backdrop, showcasing his lyricism and warm tone as the other soloist, cellist Tomas Ulrich, a well-regarded jazz improviser, adds poignant depth to the piece. The suite takes on almost a prophetic and haunting quality as one can read a foreboding tone into “Dawn”, can sense the building tension in the unusual ascending harmonic interlude of “On the Bank,” and the obvious violent passages of “Torrent,” written originally to evoke storms on the Hudson but inevitably interpreted as storms of an even more violent nature. That sequence becomes even more prophetic when considering that the solemn “Forever Gone,” a tune about losing loved ones and family, follows two tracks later. While Snidero had moods and different textures in mind when composing these pieces, the symbolism they take on now in view of the event, though coincidental, give the album a deeper emotional feel.
Snidero reaches back for the last two pieces which should be familiar to most. Fred Lacey’s Ernie Henry tribute “Theme for Ernie” was made famous by John Coltrane on Soultrane in his late ‘50s Prestige period. The warmth of the leader’s alto and the delicate Rosnes piano backing is a superb combination. The bluesy “It’s the Talk of the Town” is the title track of the jazz vocalist Helen Humes’ 1975 Columbia album Talk of the Town, with origins as a 1933 Jerry Livingston pop song. Humes, of course, forged her reputation fronting the Count Basie Orchestra. Snidero’s feel for the blues is practically chill-inducing here.
Kudos to the engineers as the strings, while present on every number, provide mostly a subtle, cushioning effect that allows the soloists to stretch out freely. Even with the lauded Charlie Parker with Strings, there are moments where it feels the string section is vying with the leader for the same space. Here, there are plenty of crescendo-building string swells but, they never compete directly with the soloist. This could be due to the arranging, the engineering, or both. As we stated at the outset, Strings is this century’s standard for the alto sax and string accompaniment. Thankfully, we can now enjoy it again in a variety of formats.
