So one of the fun things about this writing project that I started twelve years ago is the unexpected ways that it has sometimes developed.  One gets involved with projects, one meets people and one ends up connected with their other projects that may stray some way from, say, opera or art song.  So last night I found myself at a film screening and CD release party for the new CD from Hilario Durán and His Latin Jazz Big Band.  It was fascinating.  First of all I really liked the music; original compositions and covers arranged for something like eighteen brass, woodwind, guitar/bass and percussion players with Hilario conducting from the piano and guests on some of the tracks including the amazing clarinet and sax player Paquito D’Rivera, vocalist/violinist Elizabeth Rodriguez, drummer Horacio “ElNegro” Hernández and bass player Marc Rogers.

We were at 80A Studios; the home of Universal Music Canada in Liberty Village.  What we saw was the film that had been created around the CD and was mainly footage of the recording sessions.  What a movie theatre they have at that facility!  The film was shot in 4K and looked terrific.  The Dolby ATMOS sound track was a bit loud for my taste but the sound system is so good, so clean, that it didn’t bother me.  If Cineplex Odeon managed sound half as good for the MetHD broadcasts I would go a lot more often.  Extra fun geekiness for me in being able to discuss the whole project with recording engineer John Bailey.  And there was food and wine!

The CD is a hour of super high energy tracks including a tribute to Charlie Mingus and a radically different and fun arrangement of Chopin’s Fantasia Impromptu.  The musicianship is exceptional and the communication of commitment to and love for the music is palpable.  It’s a blast to listen to.  I believe that tracks from the film are going to be released on Vimeo but the album as a whole will be available from Friday as a physical CD, MP3, standard, high res and 192kHz/24 bit FLAC.  The standard res CD sounds really good with excellent balance and a solid sound stage if not quite as spectacular as the ATMOS mix at Universal!

Catalogue number: Alma Records ACD90830