The CD Blauklang by composer / arranger Vince Mendoza is named after a work by the German painter Nay. Like Nay, Mendoza paints a work of art full of different shades, not with paint but with musical instruments, played by famous musicians such as Nguyên Lê (guitar), Markus Stockhausen (trumpet) and Peter Erskine (drums) and less famous ones, including a tuba player, a harpist and the Red Urg
… string quartet. Mendoza is known for his work with (jazz) orchestras such as the WDR Big Band and the Metropole Orchestra. He has written arrangements for many artists, such as Björk (Vespertine), Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now), Elvis Costello and Joe Zawinul (Brown Street). On Blauklang he shows once again that he is not only a gifted arranger, but also a very talented composer. The six-part Bluesounds Movement, for example, is a beautiful work full of rich harmonies, counterpoint, irregular time signatures and blues. Because the title Blauklange naturally refers to the blues. The CD therefore contains a beautiful arrangement of Miles Davis' classic All Blues and Blues For Pablo by Gil Evans. Mendoza turns out to be a worthy successor to sound artist Evans at Blauklang. (HB)more
