ORANGE THEN BLUE
Not only do they surprise you with original treatments of compositions by noted masters
from Duke Ellington to Bill Evans to Albert Ayler; Orange Then Blue draws upon a
host of non-jazz sources as well -- Bulgarian chorales, Irish reels and Bolivian folk
music, for example. Orange Then Blue, a 12-piece ensemble formed in 1984, is
certainly one of the most intriguing and most prolific of big bands to come out of the
Boston/New York scene in recent years. Performances at top venues in NY (Knitting
Factory, Fez Under Time Cafe) and Boston (Regattabar, Scullers), as well as world
renowned jazz festivals (Berlin Jazz Festival, Music Meeting in Nijmegen, Holland, Boston
Globe Jazz Festival, Discover Jazz Festival and Canadian Jazz Festivals in Montreal,
Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary) along with tours of Turkey, Cyprus and
Syria have summoned enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics alike.
In addition to performing on their own, Orange Then Blue has collaborated with
such great artists as George Adams, John LaPorta, Howard Johnson, Tim Hagan, George
Garzone, Dave Douglas, Night Ark w. Ara Dinkjian, and vocalists Mili Bermejo, Dominique
Eade and Olga Roman. Orange Then Blue has released four recordings of their own
on GM Recordings, and they have participated on two other releases: one with renowned
composer Gunther Schuller (Jumpin' In The Future -- GM) conducting his own jazz
compositions and arrangements; the other with Mexican vocalist Mili Bermejo (Casa
Corazon -- Green Linnet/Xenophile).
The latest Orange Then Blue recording was released as a 2-CD set entitled While You Were Out..., (released in April '94). It was recorded at
the Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada during a two week tour of Western
Canada in 1992. The response from radio and press have been extremely positive with
reviews from Jazz Times, Ismus, Cadence, Coda, Jazziz, Pulse, Jazz Journal and others.
The November '94 issue of Musician Magazine picked While You Were Out... as one of
the top 40 Best New Jazz CD's of the year!
For further information regarding bookings and educational seminars or for a cassette
tape of Orange Then Blue's work, contact George Schuller at (718)330-0395 or write to:
Orange Then Blue, 542 Clinton St, Brooklyn, NY 11231 or Email: odetobe@pipeline.com. For immediate requests or
replies our fax number is (718)330-0043.
"OTB -- the name is a contraction of a Charles Mingus song title -- delves into many of
the expected sonorities and the rich array of tonal colors made possible by its
instrumentation. But they ignore the traditional big-band repertory to concentrate on
original compositions and such oddities as a new arrangement of a piece by the
avant-garde visionary Albert Ayler. What's more, the band's arrangers refuse to box
themselves into the formula of ensemble theme and solo variations; instead, the soloists
interact with each other, and with the band as a whole, in ways that offer what amount to
postmodern variations on concerto writing. As you might guess, OTB doesn't fall into any
expected format when it comes to compositional form either, and the music develops with
an organic integrity unique to each piece. Perhaps none of this proves so surprising
when you learn the band's leader is drummer/composer George Schuller -- son of
iconoclastic composer/critic/analyst/author Gunther Schuller -- but is still places OTB
in a rarefied camp among the world's jazz orchestras."
-- Chicago Reader
"Orange Then Blue can swing as hard as anyone... expanding the tradition... ambitious
nature... the band pulls off its ideas."
--Musician
"I can think of no better example of all that contemporary jazz has to offer."
--Cadence
"...increasingly tight, challenging music. Five albums, many tours and kudos later, OTB
has moved into pinpoint ensemble focus."
--Downbeat
"The musical maturation of Orange Then Blue continues at a startling pace... a wonderful
sense of spontaneous fun..."
--Boston Globe
"flawless and often hilarious... the band has grown even earthier in their world music
extrapolations.. the continuing evolution of a first-rate ensemble."
--Boston Phoenix
Available on:
Order your copy today.
"This recording captures the creative spirit of music. The compositions and orchestration
support some of the most personal and outstanding young jazz musicians today. It's simply
exhilarating for me to hear such a powerful yet intimate ensemble -- truly an outgrowth of
the Ellington/Mingus tradition."
Joe Lovanao
- Dave Ballou, Cuong Vu, Dave Douglas -- trumpets
- Matt Darriau, Chris Speed, Bob Bowlby -- reeds
- Rick Stepton, Peter Cirelli -- trombones
- Mark Taylor -- french horn
- Tim Ray -- piano & synthesizer
- Paul Del Nero -- bass
- George Schuller -- percussion
SCATTER Speed
KAMIKAZE Taylor
GANKINO HORO Traditional/Bulgaria
WHILE YOU WERE OUT... Schuller
SLOW BOAT TO MECHANICSVILLE 407k Douglas
LA PARTIDA 464k Bonet/Venezuela
EVANESCENT Schuller
FLYPAPER Clark
TRUTH IS MARCHIN' IN Ayler
THREE REELS & AN AIR
SEQUENZ Ales
WHILE YOU WERE OUT... encore Schuller
These sound files were edited at MacIntyre
Music
to give you a feel for the musical range that each song encompasses,
and compressed to 8 bit, 8 Khz sampling rate.
Sound helper applications are available to play back sound on your
system, most of which are either free or shareware.
George Schuller (drums, composer, arranger, producer), a native of New York
City, moved to Boston in 1967 where he was raised and educated and later
received a bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance at the New England
Conservatory of Music in 1982. For the next twelve years, Mr. Schuller was
a fixture on the Boston area jazz scene performing with Herb Pomeroy, Jaki
Byard, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Mick Goodrick, Ran Blake, Billy
Pierce, John LaPorta and Hal Crook. In 1984, he founded the twelve-piece
ensemble called Orange Then Blue which has recorded several acclaimed
albums, including 1994's While You Were Out....(GM Recordings). The group
has toured extensively and had recently performed at the 1995 Berlin Jazz
Festival and The 11th Music Meeting in Nijmegen, Holland. Mr. Schuller
released his first album as a leader in 1990, entitled Lookin' Up From Down
Below (GM), with special guests Joe Lovano, Gary Valente and Tiger Okoshi.
Mr. Schuller has also performed and recorded with many of today's
leading musicians including Joe Wilder, Britt Woodman, Mose Allison, Lee
Konitz, Danilo Perez, Joey Calderazzo, Kenny Werner, Tom Harrell, Bill
DeArango, George Adams, Fred Hersch, Harvie Swartz, Attila Zoller and The
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Other recordings include Lisa
Thorson & Co., Eugene Maslov Trio, Rob Levit Group, Frank Carlberg
Trio and Miles Donahue. In 1995 Mr. Schuller appeared on Joe Lovano's
critically acclaimed album entitled Rush Hour with
compositions and arrangements by Gunther Schuller. It was voted "Album of
the Year" for 1995 by Down Beat Magazine. Mr. Schuller has also recently
performed with Joe Lovano and Gunther Schuller at Jazz at Lincoln Center
with artistic director Wynton Marsalis.
Mr. Schuller has produced several albums including recordings by
Orange Then Blue, Ed Schuller, Jazz Composers Alliance, Mili Bermejo and
Lisa Thorson. His compositions and arrangements have been recorded by
Orange Then Blue, Ed Schuller, Mike Metheny, Your Neighborhood Sax Quartet,
Wilder/Woodman/LaPorta Sextet, Mili Bermejo and Lisa Thorson. Festival
appearances include Ravinia Jazz Festival, Discover Jazz Festival, Festival
of Music at Sandpoint, Boston Globe Jazz Festival and festivals in
Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Rimouski and
Saskatoon. In 1987, he received a Massachusetts Artist Foundation
Fellowship for Music Composition as well as a 1995 NEA Composition Grant.
Mr. Schuller presently resides in Brooklyn where he free-lances in the
New York City area.
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