Album Review: Alan Ferber's 'Music for Nonet and Strings: Chamber Songs'

From its string orchestra's first liquid phrases, Music for Nonet and Strings: Chamber Songs (Sunnyside 2010) plunges listeners into the dramatic landscapes of trombonist and composer Alan Ferber's imagination. Heraldic classical orchestrations give way to improvised piano solos. Lethargic free jazz melodies offset tight rhythmic ostinati. Pop-like simplicity contrasts with jagged dissonance.

Jazz fans will be familiar with the nonet instrumentation, made popular by such classic albums as Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool (Captiol 1957). The jazz nonet allows composers to write with a greater harmonic density than conventional ensembles, while often placing more demands on its musicians than a traditional big band due to a lack of part-doubling. To this already adventurous ensemble, Ferber adds a string orchestra conducted by JC Sanford, a notable up-and-coming composer in his own right.

Ferber takes full advantage of his ensemble's instrumentation, using his string orchestra for warm chorales in “Sedona” and “In Memoriam,” and for harmonic effects in “Ice Cave.” A fluttering violin solo on “Magnolia” rounds out the diverse use of strings, whose leavening presence is sometimes missed on the heavier nonet-only tunes.

Most compelling may be Ferber's setting of Jon Gordon's “Paradox,” which builds stuttering unison piano-bass lines over locomotive strings before passing its lyrical melody between pairings of saxophones, trombone, and guitar. Strings underscore dramatic shifts in harmony, and churn intensity into solo passages. Solo passages pass between saxophone, trombone, and trumpet at increasingly short intervals, a density- and tension-building device that serves Ferber well throughout the album.

The compositional arcs of this and other individual pieces are riveting, though the transitions between tracks can often be jarring. “Paradox”'s last unison stab makes “Magnolia”'s ballad-like introduction sound flabby, and the delicate textures of “Ice Cave” are dashed to smithereens with the first drawled declarations of “Union Blues.” I wasn't sure whether to read this as humor or insensitivity.

As a trombonist, Ferber shows breadth. Contrast his thoughtful, well-paced solo on “Magnolia” with his brash meanderings on “Union Blues.” His largely modal, pentatonic sound is flavored with glissandi and the occasional growl, and contrasts well to the wider intervallic content of Jon Gordon and John Ellis.

To listeners interested in contemporary third stream, Music for Nonet and Strings provides another interesting specimen alongside such recent releases as John Hollenbeck's Eternal Interlude (in which Ferber also performs). Whether through Ferber's compositions or his improvising, the listener consistently encounters intelligent and persuasive voice.

Release Date:

May 4th, 2010 on Sunnyside Records

Personnel:

• Alan Ferber – trombone
• Scott Wendholt – trumpet
• Jon Gordon – alto & soprano saxophone
• John Ellis – tenor saxophone
• Douglas Yates – bass clarinet
• Nate Radley – guitar
• Bryn Roberts – piano
• Matt Clohesy – bass
• Mark Ferber – drums
• String Orchestra conducted by JC Sanford

Track List:

1. The River
2. Interlude
3. Paradox
4. Magnolia
5. Fables
6. Ice Cave
7. Union Blues
8. Sedona
9. In Memoriam