Saxbabe 28 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 In the early 60's, the legendary bandleader Stan Kenton was impresssed by a certain up and coming LA jazz pianist (JW) - and asked him to write a piece for his newly formed "Neophonic Orchestra", which attempted to bridge the gap between jazz and classical. This piece was JW's "Prelude and Fugue" and was premiered and recorded by this orchestra in 1965. And it's very hard to find!But the United States Marine Band has released a new recording of it, on their recent CD Family Album. This web page also contains the full piece (~ 9 minutes) for download in MP3 form.It's got a slick, "hip-cat" theme, reminiscent of Henry Mancini, bringing to mind a cat prowling through a hot, sultry night, interspersed with sections of all out swing (a la Kenton), leading to a quiet section of playful jazz runs and an extended alto sax solo, and finally building to a punchy full-on ensemble end.The album notes are in PDF form here and contain a lot of good info on the piece and a couple of pics of JW. In it, JW states that he considers this piece a direct precursor to his score for Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.The actual CD is not commercially available, although Marine Band albums can sometimes be found years later through specialty distributors.Fun piece, check it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Wasn't this posted on the Main Page months ago? I remember seeing something like it, but for some reason I could never access the link.Good to see you again anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Lewis 6 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 It's the intention what counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saxbabe 28 Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 Seems like it was a while back... I believe this info is on the johnwilliams.org webpage, but it's not on the JWfan.com Discography (Concert Works). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Here it is. It was posted back in May. Clearly, you should visit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QMM 4 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Here it is. It was posted back in May. Clearly, you should visit more. Listen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Vincent 8 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Does anybody can listen to the other tracks of the album in streamming ? I can't, my Winamp doesn't play anything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg1138 3 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Screw that - I'm just swooning 'cos saxbabe's back..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet_Sabrina 0 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 That's an interesting site. I will check out the cd info. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacck 23 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 The piece is wonderful. Really shows off Williams' versatility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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