Oranj Symphonette"Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini"
(Gramavision/hifi 79515)
Mutant Mancini. Never heard of it? Well, swingers, you will. There currently exists a new school in this Swank Generation revival. Call it "avant lounge', "uneasy listening" or "acid muzak". The sound takes the original swank of the '50s and '60s, whips it through 30 years of twisted musical history, and serves it warm with a passion fruit salsa. The Oranj Symphonette are just such chefs...
Led by cellist/bassist Matt Brubeck, the group includes Joe Gore and manic multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney. Individually these three have played with the likes of PJ Harvey, the B-52's, Marc Ribot and more. Collectively, they met recording Tom Waits' score for the Jim Jarmusch film Night On Earth. They stayed in touch, and in 1993 began their reverent and loving deconstruction of Mancini's music. Joined by Scott Amendola, they debuted at San Francisco's Radio Valencia in 1994. Things developed infrequently until 1996 when they recruited Hammond organ/accordion virtuoso Rob Burger and began honing their explosive live chops.
Their Gramavision/Rykodisc/hifi debut, Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini, takes the work of Hollywood's most memorable composers and twists it in a way to make Henry proud. Cutting ties with the European symphonic tradition that previously dominated film scoring, Mancini made ingenious use of jazz and rock combos, swingin' pop idioms, ethnic instruments and oddball electronic devices. His compositional craft, populist pop genius and unfailing originality elevate him to that highest circle of maverick musical Americana alongside Ives, Ellington and Monk. "There's a lot of humor in our approach to Mancini," notes Gore." but there's nothing campy or ironic about it. It's music of real substance, and we try to use it as a basis for inspired improvisation."
The album blends weighty musicianship with swinging giddy fun, from the spy-punk rampage of "A Shot In The Dark" and the sleazy exotica of "Lujon" to the fearsome psychosonics of "Mr. Yunioshi" and the stunning beauty of Brubeck's cello on "Moon River." "Free Improvisation," notes Matt, "is a lot of fun for the musicians, but it has a tendency to leave the audience in the dust. However, when your original reference point is as well known as, say, 'The Pink Panther Theme', you don't lose people on the ride. There is a long jazz tradition of re-working popular songs into vehicles for improvisation. This band just gets its material from some unusual sources."