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Shut Up and Dance

Orchestre National de Jazz

2010, BeeJazz

Shut Up and Dance

about band
purchase score/parts

Pierre Perchaud  a-guitar/e-guitar, banjo
Joce Mienniel  flute, bass flute, piccolo
Eve Risser  flute, piano, prepared piano
Antonin Tri-Hoang  clar/ bass cl, alto sax, piano
Rémi Dumoulin  clar/bass cl, tenor sax
Matthieu Metzger  alto/sop/midi sax
Guillaume Poncelet  tpt, flugelhorn, keyboards
Vincent Lafont  piano, keyboards, electronics
Sylvain Daniel  electric bass
Yoann Serra  drums
John Hollenbeck  composition
Daniel Yvinec  artistic director

Produced in a creative sphere covering New York, Paris, Berlin and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Shut Up And Dance emphasizes the relation between music and movement.

The spotlight turns to rhythm in all aspects of expression, at times even where least expected: a ping pong ball bouncing across piano wire, miscellaneous objects mistreated by computer software, instrument keys, hands rubbing, PVC tubes morphing into melodies… Percussion is everywhere, a bona fide sequence of powerful melodic passages that blend the shades of a repeating musical sound, pygmy music, art music, electronic music, not to overlook a Gnawas’ trance or a Duke Ellington swing.

John Hollenbeck‘s compositions, inspired specially for this program, stem from an extensive collaboration with Daniel Yvinec and reveal the excitement and body of classical works, in a series of ten mini-concertos, each one dedicated to a different orchestra musician tailored to their unique personality and language.

Turning the notion of instrumental function on its head without a moment’s hesitation, the wind instruments drive the beat, while the prepared piano moves onto the percussion side of the orchestra… It’s all about the idea of movement, conveyed in these mesmerizing rhythms, always and forever crisscrossing so as to ease our separation from self.

Shut Up and Dance

CD 1

  • 1.
    Up
    0:29
  • 2.
    Melissa Dance
    9:00
  • 3.
    Flying Dream
    8:46
  • 4.
    Shaking Peace
    7:35
  • 5.
    Racing Heart, Heart Racing
    8:01
  • 6.
    Boom (intro)
    3:14
  • 7.
    Bob Walk (Tribute to Bob Brookmeyer)
    7:09

CD 2

“This has yielded compositions that strike an artful balance between engaging rather than monotonous ostinato figures and astute changes in harmony, tempo or meter, which is, of course, something that has historical precedents from Ellington to Don Ellis. But, as is often the case in his Claudia work, Hollenbeck has a real knack for creating mobile thickets of counterpoint and interlocking gamelan-like motifs that give the work a kind of omni-directional quality: there is sideways as well as forward motion…ONJ executes the material brilliantly with soloists such as saxophonist Matthieu Metzger and pianist Eve Risser lacing their statements with deftly handled electronics that enhance the general hypnosis of the scores. The last point to make is that Gilles Olivesi and Boris Darley’s superlative engineering gives the music a warmth and thickness that matches the best records in techno or hip hop, with the sub-bass tones in particular jumping out of the speakers. Proof that intricately constructed orchestral music need not be a sit down affair. “ – Kevin Le Gendre, BBC




“So it doesn’t sound like Ellington or Basie, not entirely, but “Shaking Peace” and the rest of this album recall to mind just why the big band remains a vital medium for jazz expression.”
– Jeff Dayton-Johnson, All About Jazz