Now Orchestra Discography of CDs

Now Orchestra music CDs "I regard the NOW Orchestra as one of the finest large creative ensembles active in the last decade.." - George Lewis (Earshot Jazz Magazine)

Now Orchestra discography Track Listing of songs: Pages from the Diary of Dreams; Harmolodic Highlander; Departure; Lookout; Son of Stytodisc; Tibetan Tears of Joy and Sadness;

Now Orchestra songs "As interesting and varied as this music is, the highpoint of the New Orchestra Records label so far is Animal Tales by the NOW Orchestra itself. Labrosses's title piece makes fine use of the large ensemble's potential for contrast, blurring composition and improvisational processes in a shifting terrain that can emphasize the sheer heft of the two trombones or the contrasting delicacy of a string section that includes two violins, two cellos and two basses. Tanguay's "d'une mare a l'autre" is an affecting treatment of an anthem, first sung and then repeated and gradually expanded with growing intensity by the entire ensemble, including Coat Cooke's powerful baritone saxophone. ...

Now Orchestra CD discography The NOW Orchestra is keen on working with guest artists, either workshop or residence style. Past collaborators have included René Lussier (Le Tour du Bloc) and George Lewis (The Shadowgraph Series). These previous projects cast the outside musician/composer as a featured guest. Pola puts Marilyn Crispell in the role of an integrated guest -- which probably explains why the album is billed to the NOW Orchestra with Crispell, and not the other way around, as was the case with the Lussier and Lewis projects. The grande dame's piano is not mixed front center; she is not taking one solo after another, either. She is simply playing with the ...

Now Orchestra albums WOWOW was recorded live on November 14 and 15, 1997, as the New Orchestra Workshop (or NOW Orchestra) was celebrating its 20th anniversary with a concert series in hometown Vancouver, Canada. Three new works were created for the occasion, all of them featured (in part) on this CD. WOWOW is an entertaining record and a very good example of what the NOW Orchestra is capable of. Two weaker points are the under-use of Ron Samworth, a great guitar player almost unheard on this disc, and the presence of crude edits. It seems the goal was to fit all three new works on the album, but it has been achieved at the cost of editing, most evident on "WOWOW" when the piece fades out on a newly-installed groove. ~ François Couture Coat Cooke (reeds), Ron Samworth (guitar), Paul Plimley (piano), Kate Hammett-Vaughn (vocals), Dylan van der Schyff (drums), Paul Blaney (bass), Clyde Reed (bass), Ralph Eppel (trombone), Saul Berson (alto sax), John Korsud (trumpet), Peggy Lee (cello), Bill Clark (trumpet), Brad Muirhead (trombone), Mark Nodwell, (soprano sax). with guests: George Lewis (trombone); Vinny Golia (clarinets, flutes, saxes); Paul Cram (clarinet, tenor sax). Recorded November 14 & 15, 1997 at the New Orchestra Workshop's 20th anniversary celebration. Much of Vancouver's improvised music community was showcased in a variety of settings. What the Critics are Saying: Incorporating three very long pieces of multiple sections -- by mainstays Cooke and Samworth, as well as by guest soloist Paul Cram -- this date demonstrates the NOW Orchestra's synergy as well as its knowledge of the large ensemble continuum that stretches from Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, and Basie to Sun Ra, the AACM Experimental Band, and Braxton's Creative ...