Matt Hilgenberg - Rasa - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Randall Thompson Requiem (Philadelphia Singers, Hayes) Randall Thompson's choral works retain the affection of American choral singers and conductors alike. The Requiem is his masterpiece, written in response to the loss of close friends and colleagues. Using a wide-ranging selection of Biblical verses, it takes the form of a dramatic dialogue between two choirs, a 'chorus of mourners' and a 'chorus of the faithful', concerning eternal life. Recorded here for the first time in it's complete form, this Requiem is an emotional and dramatically intense journey of conflict and resolution, and entirely unique within American music history and the requiem tradition as a whole.

Saxophonist and composer Matt Otto's innovative new recording integrates his modern jazz sensibilities with InchEnsemble Iberica,Inch a Kansas City-based collective devoted to the music of Spain and Portugal, and whose instrumentation focuses on the guitar but includes the Cuban tres, Brazilian Cavaquinho, and Turkish oud. Rendering the lines and voicings of Otto's music within the texture and aesthetic of a chamber music ensemble results in a sound that is both rich and contemplative, creating new, compelling soundscapes. Iberica also features Brad Cox on Fender Rhodes, Karl McComas-Reichl on bass & cello, and Mike Stover on steel guitar. Inch... haunting, understated sophistication... like a skilled boxer, he stays within himself, confidently bobbing and weaving melody through the steady rhythm, jabbing and dancing, soloing in flurries of notes.Inch - JAZZ REVIEW

... like a skilled boxer, he stays within himself, confidently bobbing and weaving melody through the steady rhythm, jabbing and dancing, soloing in flurries of notes. JAZZ REVIEW. From New York to Los Angeles and Kansas City, saxophonist Matt Otto always cultivated an inspired musical community with which to surround himself. Now having 14 years of performances with the energized and spontaneous KC duo of bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer John Kizilarmut, the vibrancy of their interactions is a given, and apparent, as the trio provides the momentum for this set of nine Otto originals. On several tracks, Matt Villinger's Fender Rhodes provides astute chordal realizations of Otto's harmonies, while guitarist Alex Frank adds an edge of free, '70s-era fusion energy. Also featured is the Paris-based trumpeter Hermon Mehari, who returns to his Kansas City roots occasionally and was in town to add his sparkling voice to three pieces.