release date: 6th of March 2020 on Rune Grammofon
Original score by Krzysztof Penderecki had only been recorded once and as far as I am aware and it was also the only performance of it , luckily for us who didn’t exist there back in time, but now have a chance to listen to this inspirational performance and learn from that as well as understand better how it affected the further evolution of improvised music which we are familiar with today. The new reading from Mats Gustafsson, who also conducts his Fire! Orchestra.
The first (and until now only?) recorded interpretation of Krzysztof Penderecki´s “Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra” took place in 1971 at Donaueschingen and featured the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by the great Polish composer. That orchestra also consisted of 14 musicians, including international jazz heavyweights such as Kenny Wheeler, Peter Brötzmann, Tomasz Stanko, Terje Rypdal, Han Bennink and others. Don Cherry himself did not perform.
Penderecki had heard the Globe Unity Orchestra a couple of years earlier and was fascinated by the possibilities of working with musicians from a different background and with other perspectives than he was used to from the classical world. The challenge for all involved was to find the right balance between composition and improvisation. The idea was initially met with some skepticism from the musicians, but this soon gave way to acceptance and even eagerness.
The new, extended reading by Mats Gustafsson and Fire! Orchestra was commissioned by the Sacrum Profanum festival in Kraków, Poland in 2018. The idea was to place this classic piece in a contemporary setting, with a new approach and a new body of sound. However, the original score was used as a platform for the new reading, connecting history with the present.
A score in this context is most often of a graphic nature to present reference points, visualized on the sleeve by Kim Hiorthøy´s cut-up adaption of Mats Gustafsson´s score. It´s also worth noticing that the instrumentation is more or less identical to that of 1971, the main difference being a tuba replacing one of the trombones. Finally, this new reading clocks in at 40 minutes, and is thus considerably longer than the 1971 version.
This line-up of the Fire! Orchestra is unique in that it´s the first time without founding members and singers Mariam Wallentin and Sofia Jernberg. It´s also the first time with guitarist Reine Fiske.
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ARTIST: Fire! Orchestra
TITLE: Actions
SCORE: Krzysztof Penderecki
LABEL: Rune Grammofon
FORMAT: CD limited edition / LP limited edition
CAT. NO: RCD 2212
RELEASE DATE: 6th March 2020
Tracks
Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra
Line up:
Goran Kajfes – trumpet
Niklas Barnö – trumpet
Susana Santos Silva – trumpet
Reine Fiske – guitar
Per åke Holmlander – tuba
Maria Bertel – trombone
Anna Högberg – alto sax
Mats Gustafsson – baritone sax and conduction
Per “Texas” Johansson – tenor sax, clarinet and flute
Christer Bothén – bass clarinet
Alex Zethson – hammond organ
Elsa Bergman – double bass
Torbjörn Zetterberg – electric bass
Andreas Werliin – drums