THE METROPOLE ORCHESTRA

The Metropole Orchestra conducted by Vince Mendoza

 "Bebop"

AllMusic Review by Michael G. Nastos  

Vince Mendoza has arranged and composed some of the most startlingly impressive symphonic jazz of modern times, but El Viento might be his most ambitious project. Teamed with the Netherlands-based Metropole Orchestra, Mendoza's idea to make grandiose music based on the persona of poet, playwright, painter, and pianist Federico Garcia Lorca is not only a stroke of genius, but well conceived and executed with the extraordinary talents of this large ensemble. This idea was essentially initialized by Lorca himself in 1931 as the Ur-Lorca Project, formalized in 1979 by vocalist Camaron de la Isla and composer/producer Ricardo Pachon, further formulated by Niko Langenhuijsen and his group Caoutchouc in 1992. By 1998's centennial celebrations of the birth of Lorca, this concept via Langenhuijsen's arrangements had grown into a full-blown fusion of Spanish flamenco, big-band jazz, and Lorca's word play as performed live in Utrecht. Ten years later, the modernized concepts of Lorca (who died in 1936) come to full fruition via Mendoza and Metropole. This was far from a simple feat, as Mendoza's jazz-oriented charts are both beautifully soaring and complex in their development. The band pulls it off brilliantly, with encouragement from the magnificent lead singers Eva de Dio or Rafael de Utrera, expressing the folkloric Spanish style, the cante jondo (deep song), duende fever, and flamenco-inspired music so much a part of this culture. High drama is the key to these compositions, especially during the three-part suite "Historietas Del Viento," composed and arranged by Langenhuijsen. Upper horizon strings and a vocal choir moves to a rich, jazzed samba/flamenco-flavored chart, and the acoustic or electric guitar of Daniel Mendez, with a 12/8 section driving the expressive, emotional singing of De Dio to conclusive heights. Joan Albert Amargos contributes charts of traditional pieces; the spoken word intro to jazz waltz swinger "De Los Cuatros Muleros" and tender "Los Mozos De Monleon" with an oboe or harp respectively brightening things up. Pachon revisits two of his compositions -- "La Cancion Del Mariquita" via Mendoza's chart in a majestic and upbeat flamenco as lofty high strings hover over Marc Scholten's Michael Brecker-like neo-bop tenor sax solo, and "La Leyenda Del Tiempo," which again showcases the tenor, this time inspired by dance tap from Daniel Navarro, hand clapping, and a quick, joyous refrain. Two other traditional pieces are adapted by Mendoza, as "La Tarara" uses the most folkish acoustic approach with strings and an excited flamenco-derived pace, while "Sevillanas Del Siglo XVIII" is the group at its most festive, using castanets and a 6/8 shout-out vocal style for purely seductive, fever-pitched purposes. This was originally a 90-minute concert presentation, edited and abridged somewhat here for the CD format. If you are familiar with Lorca's poems, you will certainly hear them come to life on this remarkable recording, but if discovering them for the first time, you can easily be captivated by their beauty, strength, and resolve so much the centerpiece of Spanish heritage, an old world, heartfelt passion that still remains in our modern era. Bravo!

Seija Teeuwen

Violin

Vince Mendoza & the Metropole Orchestra

Primary Artist

Efrain Toro

Percussion

Eduardo Reyes

Percussion Engineer

Geoff Pesche

Mastering

Daniel Mendez

Guitar, Soloist

Hans Van Der Zanden

Group Member

Roel Koster

Group Member

Herman Van Haaren

Group Member, Violin

Marianne Van Den Heuvel

Group Member, Violin

Arlia de Ruiter

Group Member, Violin

Marijn Rombout

Group Member, Violin

David Peijnenborgh

Group Member, Violin

Vera Laporeva

Group Member, Violin

Wim Kok

Group Member, Violin

Dennis Koenders

Group Member, Violin

Sarah Koch

Group Member, Violin

Linda Dumessie

Group Member, Violin

Lucia Domski

Group Member, Violin

Erica Korthals Altes

Group Member, Violin

Alexandra Welch

Group Member, Viola

Iris Schut

Group Member, Viola

Julia Jowett

Group Member, Viola

Mieke Honingh

Group Member, Viola

Jelle Schouten

Group Member, Trumpet

Jan Hollander

Group Member, Trumpet

Henk Heijink

Group Member, Trumpet

Ruud Breuls

Group Member, Trumpet

Bart Van Lier

Group Member, Trombone

Jan Oosting

Group Member, Trombone

Jan Bastiani

Group Member, Trombone

Martin van den Berg

Group Member, Trombone, Trombone (Bass)

Marc Scholten

Group Member, Saxophone

Leo Janssen

Group Member, Saxophone

Paul van der Feen

Group Member, Saxophone

Max Boeree

Group Member, Saxophone

Jos Beeren

Group Member, Saxophone

Hans Vroomans

Group Member, Piano

Frank Wardenier

Group Member, Percussion

Murk Jiskoot

Group Member, Percussion

Willem Luijt

Group Member, Oboe

Joke Schonewille

Group Member, Harp

Peter Tiehuis

Group Member, Guitar (Electric)

Mariël Van Den Bos

Flute, Group Member

Janine Abbas

Flute, Group Member

Andy Waterman

Engineer

Jonathan Allen

Editing, Engineer, Mixing

Arno van Nieuwenhuize

Drums, Group Member

Jaap Branderhorst

Double Bass, Group Member

Daniel Navarro

Dancer

Dan Navarro

Dancer, Soloist

Eduardo Arroyo

Cover Art

Arend Liefkes

Contrabass, Double Bass, Group Member

Vince Mendoza

Conductor, Primary Artist, Producer

Traditional

Composer

Ricardo Pachon

Composer

José Heredia

Composer

Elin Carlson

Choir/Chorus

Cindy Bourquin

Choir/Chorus

Jennifer Barnes

Choir/Chorus

Emile Visser

Cello, Group Member

Bastiaan Van Der Werf

Cello, Group Member

Annie Tangberg

Cello, Group Member

Maarten Jansen

Cello, Group Member

Wim Grin

Cello, Group Member

Jascha Albracht

Cello, Group Member

Udo Demandt

Cajon, Soloist

Janine Teepen

Bassoon

Jan Willem Van Der Ham

Bassoon, Group Member