Sky Blue

Finally I got a chance to listen to Maria Schneider’s new album Sky Blue, which I purchased and downloaded from her website a few weeks ago. I know this is the type of music that requires many listenings before one can fully comment on, but I still wanted to share my first impressions here.

As with her previous album Concert in the Garden, Ms. Schneider is presenting us a very imaginative and sophisticated suite of compositions. This is the type of big band music that spans across multiple genres, satisfying not only the jazz enthusiast, but anyone who is into good quality music. The performance of the band feels just right; tastefully coordinated, without being clinical. And we’re talking about a big number of highly talented individuals here, 21 total. You can tell this group has been performing together for a long time, and their collective spirit elevates the compositions significantly. I saw Maria Schneider and her orchestra live, last year at The Music Hall, and it was an unforgettable concert experience.

With that said, I have to admit that there is something in Sky Blue that doesn’t work for me. I don’t know if it’s the solos, or the overall rubato feel, but I think I like the previous album much better. Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely my personal opinion, I think it still is a great album from a great artist. Also, I should point out that Maria Schneider does a great job of using the internet for distributing her music and communicating with her audience. She is also one of the first artists to use ArtistShare to produce her albums. So go ahead and get a copy of Sky Blue and let me know what you think.