Bandleader and flutist Christophe Dal Sasso (56) is a brilliant arranger.
His specialty is big band arrangements of jazz classics such as John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” or “Africa/Brass”. This time too, the Dal Sasso Big Band pays homage to a tenor saxophonist, as Michael Brecker (1949-2007) was the feature soloist on the album Three Quartets, with which Chick Corea returned to acoustic jazz in 1981. Interestingly, Corea (1941-2021) was inspired by classical string quartets at the time, which may explain the chromatic density of his three pieces – he kept them in his repertoire until the end of his life.
In Dal Sasso’s big band version of the Three Quartets, the main solo roles naturally fall to the tenor players (David El-Malek, Stéphane Guillaume, Rick Margitza) and Pierre de Bethmann on piano. Their improvisations are brilliant – but Dal Sasso’s arrangements for his 12-piece ensemble are just as remarkable. With the band winds, he works out structures that were hardly noticeable in Corea’s quartet, traces the original improvisational paths, develops riffs and reliefs and gives the pieces a fascinating new interpretation. The “Quartets” are then followed by three more Corea pieces – they in particular offer Dal Sasso a lot of space for colorful sound realization. What a dazzling idea to commemorate Chick Corea’s magnificent music in this innovative way!
Dal Sasso Big Band – „Three Quartets“ Revisited
Label: Jazz & People
Format: CD, LP