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Neil Slater: Legacy: Neil Slater at North Texas
ByLegacy: Neil Slater at North Texas is a four disc set that celebrates decades of exceptional output for a college band that has played at a level well beyond their years. More than that, the box set pays tribute to a prolific and diverse composer and arranger who drew the best from his charges. Among the better known artists to go through the UNT programunder Slater's One O'Clock Lab Band tenureare saxophonists Bob Belden, Jim Snidero, Craig Handy and Tim Ries, trombonists Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre and Tom Brantley, drummers Gregg Bissonette and Ari Hoenig, Norah Jones and countless others.
Of the thirty-eight compositions on Legacy, only three were not penned by Slater. The final track of Disc Four, "Neil" (Grammy-nominated) was written in tribute to Slater by Rich DeRosa, UNT's director of Jazz Composition & Arranging. When Disc One opens with "Stuff," we hear that Slater is far more interested utilizing swing as part of a broader palette that incorporates many textures. "Keystone" is a darkly dramatic piece until broken up by fine tenor and piano solos, whereupon a swing rhythm takes over. Also from the 1980s disc, "Sky Window" is a beautifully atmospheric and noirish composition. It's either a function of timeor composition selectionthat the improvisations become more intense and sophisticated by the third disc. Oscar Garza's tenor, and Matt Politano's trumpet solos soar on "This" as does Clay Pritchard's sax on "That." The energetic "Will or Would?" leads to DeRosa's finale, the almost bittersweet tribute to the master.
This comprehensive history demonstrates his mastery big band styles; he is equally adept in creating pastoral scenes as he is in executing a blues motif, and full-tilt swing. He expertly arranges to play to the strengths of his soloist: trombone and piano on "Partly Cloudy," saxophones and bass on "Sky Window," guitar on "Hourglass," and trumpet and piano on "Not Yet." For those who haven't spent much time listening to college jazz ensembles, or more specifically, not familiar with the twenty-seven year career of Neil Slater, Legacy is an ear-opening experience.
Track Listing
Disc One: The 1980s – Stuff; Keystone; Other Seasons; Partly Cloudy; Deuces; Signs; No Promises; Update; Common Ground; Sky Window. Disc Two: The 1990s – Values; Slow Heat; Threads; Hourglass; My Foolish Heart; Lead On, 0 King Eternal; Insider; Joker; Shadyside; Wink; NosePrints. Disc Three: The 2000s – Domain; Response; This; That; Look; Places; Both; Call Waiting; Side Effects; Separately Together. Disc Four: A New Era - Another Other; Time Sensitive; Not Yet; Special Interests; 3rd & 55th; Will or Would?; Neil.
Personnel
Neil Slater: composer, arranger, conductor; various artists (One O'Clock Lab Band).
Album information
Title: Legacy: Neil Slater at North Texas | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: UNT Music
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