MIKE HOLOBER & THE GOTHAM JAZZ ORCHESTRA

THIS ROCK WE’RE ON: IMAGINARY LETTERS

Palmetto Records

Mike Holober, composer/arranger/conductor/lyricist/piano/Fender Rhodes; Jamile Staevie Ayres, vocals; Jody Redhage, cello; Ronan Rigby, child voice/Saxophone/woodwinds; Charles Pillow, alto & soprano saxophone/ flute/alto flute/bass flute/clarinet; Ben Kono, alto & soprano saxophones/ flute/alto flute/clarinet; Jason Rigby, tenor & soprano saxophone/flute/clarinet; Adam Kolker, tenor & soprano saxophone/flute/clarinet; Chris Potter, tenor saxophone/clarinet; Virginia Mayhew, tenor saxophone; Carl Maraghi, baritone saxophone/bass clarinet; RHYTHM SECTION: Nil Felder, guitar; John Patitucci, bass/electric bass; Jared Schonig, drums; James Shipp, vibraphone/percussion/synthesizer/voice; TRUMPET/FLUGELHORN: Tony Kadleck, Liesi Whitaker, Marvin Stamm, Scott Wendholt, & Stuart Mack; TROMBONES: Matt McDonald, Mark Patterson, Alan Ferber, Jason Jackson, Sara Jacovino. Jeff Nelson, bass trombone.

Mike Holober has been hailed as “one of the finest modern composer/arrangers of our time,” by Downbeat magazine. This current production might be his most ambitious project to date.  The album titled, “This Rock We’re On: Imaginary Letters” is a multi-movement suite written for Holober’s Grammy-nominated Gotham Jazz Orchestra. This double album is meant to celebrate, America’s most beautiful and endangered landscapes using Holober’s original compositions.

The orchestra opens with Holober’s composition “Lay of the Land” that features the tenor saxophone solo of Chris Potter. This is orchestrated, Straight-ahead jazz at its best.  It quickly became one of my favorite tunes on his album.  I love the Patitucci bassline that weaves in and out of this arrangement like knitting needles. The bass catches the fabric of the songs, hooks into the groove and sets the tempo and pulse of the composition, pulling us along like captured threads. The music builds, crescendos, then quiets like the eye of the storm. The harmonics appear warm from the bell of the horns. Then Potter is back with his bluesy tenor saxophone dancing over the fade in a rainbow of colors.

“On this Rock” is vocalized by the soprano voice of Jamile Staevie Ayres and enhanced by the beautiful trombone work of Mark Patterson.  It’s a lovely, melodic tune with lyrics that long to be read aloud (like a protest poem, prose grows from Holober’s music like a vine).

“On this rock / we hang out hopes / from passing clouds / on breaking waves

            In golden dusks / to gentle winds.  In this place / we chase our dreams / to build a life /

            To fall in love / to search for peace.”

“Dirt Lovers Almanac” is another beautiful and melodic composition that sounds like fireflies dancing through quiet fields at midnight.  The bass of John Patitucci peeks in and out of the arrangement like the moon peeking from behind drifting clouds. When Patitucci takes his solo, he captivates all my attention.  Charles Pillow is featured on his alto saxophone and this song became my second favorite of this production. Jody Redhage Ferber offers a brief but very effective cello solo. The cello appears and disappears like those Hawaiian rainbows that stretch for yards across the sky then disappear in the blink of an eye.  I love the blues inside this orchestrated tune, splashed like turquoise paint across white cement.  It makes an impression, standing hand in hand with the classical orchestration, like unanticipated lovers.

On the second disc, the great arrangements and compositions continue.  This is a sample from Disc #2 titled “Tower Pulse” featuring Nil Felder on guitar.

The mix of melodic ideas and various tempo changes within the arrangements show why Mike Holober was awarded the 2022 American Academy of Arts and Letters Andrew Imbrie Award in Music.  His album “Hiding Out” was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble. This project is certain to be another project in the running for a Grammy award.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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