On “ReWrite of Spring”, Danish saxophonist, composer and conductor Lars Møller honors Igor Stravinsky’s influential composition “Rite of Spring.” To develop this project, Lars Møller brought together one of the finest jazz big bands in Europe, the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, and two celebrated jazz musicians, saxophonist David Liebman and percussionist Marilyn Mazur.
The album features Part 1: Evocation, Part 2: Spring Square and Part 3: Procession. There are two versions of these musical pieces. ReWrite of Spring contains one CD with a studio version of these compositions and a second CD with live performance versions of the same musical pieces. As expected the live versions vary in length from the studio recordings and contain more improvisation.
Lars Møller was deeply inspired by Stravinsky’s methods and techniques. The orchestral jazz sound of the the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra is enhanced by Marilyn Mazur’s fabulous arsenal of global percussion, including gongs, udu drums, congas, dunun drums and lots more.
The lineup includes: Lars Møller as composer, conductor; David Liebman on soprano saxophone and wooden flute; Marilyn Mazur on udu clay pot drum, bells, Chinese tuned gongs, gongs, gran cassa (bass drum), congas, timbales, Guinean dunun drum, temple blocks, cymbals, rattles, chimes and singing metals.
Also featured on the album is The Aarhus Jazz Orchestra:
Nicolai Schultz on lead alto, soprano, flute and alto flute; Johan Toftegaard Knudsen on alto saxophone, clarinet; Michael Bladt on tenor saxophone, clarinet; Claus Waidtløw on tenor saxophone, clarinet; Finn Henriksen on baritone saxophone, bass clarinet.
Antonio Gecek on trumpet, flugelhorn; Jan Lynggaard Sørensen on trumpet, flugelhorn; Jakob Buchanan on trumpet, flugelhorn; Rasmus Bøgelund on trumpet, flugelhorn.
Nikolai Bøgelund on lead trombone; Stefan Ringive on trombone; Niels Jakob Nørgaard on trombone; Henrik Resen on trombone.
Thor Madsen on guitar; Mads Bærentzen on piano and keyboards; Morten Ramsbøl on acoustic bass; and Morten Lund on drums.
ReWrite of Spring is a flawless example orchestral jazz craftsmanship.