Master arranger Mike Abene talks about his collaboration with Joe Lovano on "Symphonica."
For his 20th Blue Note album, Joe Lovano delivers a milestone recording, "Symphonica," a bold and beautiful orchestral project recorded largely in concert with the WDR Radio Big Band and Orchestra from Cologne, Germany, with the music arranged and conducted by Michael Abene, the musical director of the big band. The album marks the first time in Lovano's career that he has recorded an entire album with a full symphony. Additionally, all the music consists of Lovano compositions save for one piece (Charles Mingus' âDuke Ellington's Sound of Love" where Lovano sustains his tenor saxophone lines to hover over the haunting melody). In that sense, "Symphonica" stands as a full-sound, best-of collection that traces the breadth and plumbs the depth of Lovano's career.
