10 de març, 2014

Meet the Jazz Composers Forum (5): Florian Ross

Els vuit compositors convidats per l'Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos parlen sobre la seva experiència amb la big band portuguesa. Concert el 16 de març a Luz de Gas (20.00h). Entrades a 1 euro pels Amics del Jazz/Club The Project.


1. How was for you the experience to work with the OJM?
I find the main difference between commercial Big Bands and musicians’ initiatives is that the latter are really there for the music! OJM is a fine mixture of diverse characters and artists who are there for one reason only: the music! They are open-minded, intelligent and creative all at once! It was a pleasure to work with them!

2. Can you define the piece you wrote for them, Tremor?
For me the balance between traditional Big Band music and more recent approaches is most interesting. The old masters of Big Band music often wrote music that showed the powerful edges of the band: a lot of kicking tuttis, hard swing, memorable melodies. Since the 1970s, though, many composers have started to use the Big Band in many more ways. They treated the band less in fixed sections and experimented a lot with sound –much more like one could treat a chamber orchestra. For me an interesting blend of 'show band‘ and ’Schönberg’ is the way to go. This was also the driving force in my composition Tremor.