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Mike Holober & the Gotham Jazz Orchestra — Hiding Out
(Bandcamp Zoho Music no#, 2019, 2CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2019-08-26

Hiding Out Cover art

For those who appreciate the big-band orchestal jazz sound, Mike Holoder's Gotham Jazz Orchesta's latest release Hiding Out is a two disc set of awe-inspiring compositions, featuring two full length multi-movement suites (the four-part "Flow" on disc one, and the five-part "Hiding Out" on disc two) plus an additional stand-alone piece piece on each disc ("Jumble" and an arrangement of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Caminhos Cruzados") plus a six and a half minute radio edit of the latter. It's been a full ten years since this ensemble's previous release Quake, though Holober has kept busy with other projects in the interim, in part serving as artistic director of New York's Westchester Jazz Orchestra from 2007 to 2013, as well as many other endeavors during that time. As one might figure, Holober composed an abundance of material during those ten-or-so years with the Gotham Jazz Orchestra in mind, with an idea of eventiually getting the group back together to record his new compositions, which has finally come to pass. In addition to Holober, who conducts and plays piano and Fender Rhodes, there are twenty-seven additional musicians involved here, some play on one suite or the other, many play on both: saxes, flutes, clarinets, bass clarinets, trumpets, flugelhorns, trombones, guitars, bass, drums, percussion and more. The two discs comprise a full 93 minutes of powerful orchestral magic, full of emotion and splendor at every turn, with adventurous and complex arrangements, informed by classics of Gil Evans, Duke Ellington and many others. Perhaps as a listener the only thing better than absorbing this music off of the discs at hand would be experiencing it performed live.

Filed under: New releases, 2019 releases

Related artist(s): Mike Holober

More info
http://mikeholober.bandcamp.com/album/hiding-out

 

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