Barry Guy & London Jazz Composers Orchestra with Irène Schweizer

Theoria

★★★★

Barry Guy composes and leads this large and very talented ensemble in a sort of one long, fleshed out performance. Coming in at 57 minutes long I could imagine it would be quite nauseating as a single track album; so it's split into 5. 

I'd argue that the first and last sections are the most intense and exciting, there's not much else to top those. But really this works much better as one, cohesive project that must be listened to in one sitting. Don't get me wrong, the soloing should NOT be missed either as there is some extensive and extraordinary examples of that. Such as the sax on track 4 that lasts longer than one would expect humanly possible. 

There are many parts of this piece which show repeating motifs that the whole orchestra plays out rapidly and within other motions. During some solos it will just cut to this perfectly orchestrated lyric and then cut out; like watching a thriller film. A lot of it is really cinematic, not only in scope but in delivery. I'd like to think of it as some wild soundtrack. 

Schweizer helps achieve that especially with that angry and paranoid piano playing. The weight of the keys is like lead. Guy somehow manages to create the "Third Stream" I've wanted to see; truly channeling in the 20th century classical sound. It's a sort of refined beauty. 

Favorite Song: Section No. 5