Category: Reviews

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This debut release from composer/multi-reedist Idan Santhaus was a long time coming. There You Are actually started to take shape in April of 2008, when four of these tracks were recorded with a solid sixteen piece band, but that was just the beginning. It took three more years for Santhaus to get back into the studio with his jazz orchestra, which was now split between returning members from the first session and new faces, and it would be another two years before this album would finally see the light of day. That moment came in August of 2013, more than a decade after Santhaus arrived in New York.

The Israeli-born Santhaus came stateside in 2001, ready to continue his jazz studies in earnest. He earned a degree from SUNY Purchase, where he studied with bigwigs like bassistTodd Coolman and trumpeter Jon Faddis, and he began tweaking the standard big band formula with his Reedless Big Band. When Santhaus’ time at SUNY Purchase was done, he furthered his studies by participating in the BMI Jazz Composers’ Workshop, which brought him in contact with some brilliant writer-mentors like Jim McNeely, Michael Abene and Mike Holober. All of these experiences helped to prepare Santhaus for his first leader date.

There You Are is made up of originals and the focus is squarely on Santhaus’ composing; he only picks up an instrument—the flute—on one track, choosing instead to share his thoughts through his writing. Santhaus starts off with the positive, delivering the hopeful “After All,” but the mood quickly changes with “Tempo Rarely,” which opens and closes with ominous overtones but explores other notions in mid-flight. The title track puts the spotlight on Santhaus’ flute andFrank Basile’s baritone saxophone, balancing the highs and lows in focused soloists, while “Purple And Yellow” expands from a reflective state to a more affirming and substantive place.

The personnel on There You Are is a mixture of well-known veterans, up-and-comers, and virtual unknowns, but they all stand together as one on the common ground that Santhaus creates. Coolman and drummer John Riley hold down the fort on every track, trombonist Michael Deasemakes a splash or two, multi-reedist David DeJesus turns some heads with his horn work, and multi-reedist Matt Garrison makes his mark when he takes center stage. Other notables include pianist Deanna Witkowski and trombonist Andy Hunter.

Santhaus does a good job forging a group identity, despite the fact that this album is really delivered by two groups. His compositions occasionally leave the ear wanting a bit when it comes to melody, but his music is never short on interesting ideas and captivating developments. Hopefully this will be the first of many large group dates from Idan Santhaus.
Track Listing: After All; Tempo Rarely; There You Are; Now I Feel Like It, Now I Don’t; Purple And Yellow; A Place I Know; Change Of Season; High Maintenance; Nothing Yet?!.

Personnel: Idan Santhaus: flute (3) Ben Kono: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, clarinet (2, 5, 6, 9); David DeJesus: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, clarinet; Dan Willis: tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet (2, 5, 6, 9); Jon Gordon: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); Matt Garrison: tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet; Frank Basile: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet; Mark Small: tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); Jon Owens: trumpet, flugelhorn (2, 5, 6, 9); Max Darche: trumpet, flugelhorn (2, 5, 6, 9); Bruce Harris: trumpet, flugelhorn; James O’Connor: trumpet, flugelhorn (2, 5, 6, 9); Seneca Black: trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); John Replogle: trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); Thomas Barber: trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); Michael Dease: trombone; Brent Chiarello: trombone; Mike Christianson: bass trombone; James Hirschfeld: trombone (1, 5, 6, 9); Andy Hunter: trombone (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); Deanna Witkowski: piano (2, 5, 6, 9); Roy Assaf: piano (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); Andrew Synowiec: guitar (1); Todd Coolman: bass; John Riley: drums.

http://midwestrecord.com

IDAN SANTHAUS/There You Are: This record is divided into two big band dates with everyone that knows how to blow like a pro in New York on board and showing their stuff. The kind of stuff you could expect from Stan Kenton when he was doing dates that didn’t requite extra showing off, this is the sound of pros that know all about keeping the groove in the grooves. A writer/composer/conductor in the classic sense, Santhaus knows his stuff and knows how to make his point while scoring a lot of points. Bar raising, listening jazz throughout.
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http://lucidculture.wordpress.com

Sweeping Orchestral Big Band Jazz from Idan Santhaus

The big band compositions on Idan Santhaus‘ new Posi-tone album There You Are have steady tempos, bright colors and a slowly unfolding melodicism, sort of a reverse image of Bob Belden’s darkly panoramic Animation project. Santhaus honed his chops as a teenage flutist with the Haifa Youth Orchestra in his native Israel; as you might expect from someone with a classical background and a stint in Jim McNeely’s BMI Composers Workshop, his compositions are third-stream, straight down the middle between classical and jazz, sort of a Maria Schneider Junior. This is big band jazz with an orchestral sweep rather than beefed-up blues or swing, an ensemble project rather than a launching pad for a lot of expansive soloing – which isn’t a bad thing at all. If you can’t wait til Schneider’s next album, this will tide you over.

Much of the opening track, After All is a simple one-chord overture whose waves grow harder the brass rising over an insistent Jon Gordon alto sax solo. Tempo Rarely climbs out of a tensely suspenseful intro to rising and crashing flamenco allusions, then bookends a slinkily swinging, noirish interlude with a funky full-ensemble pulse. The title track begins with suspenseful low sheets punctuated by drum bursts, Santhaus’ own flute terse over a bossa beat. Frank Basile adds a goodnatured, even wry counterbalance on bari sax  as it builds.

Now I Feel Like It, Now I Don’t works variations on a catchy singalong hook around a moody bridge of sorts, Matt Garrison’s lingering tenor sax exchanging with Thomas Barber’s more carefree trumpet. Purple and Yellow, a slow late summer tableau sets resonant sostenuto harmonies under James O’Connor’s emphatic trumpet and another smoky excursion from Basile. A Place I Know brings back a summery bossa soul groove, a feature for Michael Dease’s lyrical trombone and Ben Kono’s lively soprano sax, pianist Deanne Witkowski underscoring it with a purist bluesiness.

Change of Season plays off a brightly funky central riff, Mark Small’s tenor solo following the ensemble on a darker trajectory, Andy Hunter’s trombone holding the center over a marionettish dance fueled by the high reeds. High Maintenance starts out as a lustrous ballad and morphs into a pouncing swing tune: it’s the most trad track here. The album winds up with Nothing Yet?!?, taking a somber minor blues riff slowly upward with a brooding bolero pulse. There are two ensembles here, one with eighteen members, the other with sixteen, many of the players appearing in both, tight and seamless all around.

http://www.criticaljazz.com