Serendipity 18
Nearly every big-band leader (and composer) has had to grapple with the splotching effect that amassed instruments can have.Duke Ellingtonavoided the problem most often by creating a constant dialogue between his orchestra's different sections. Bob Florence subscribes to the Ellingtonian goal, if not the exact process. Florence's Limited Edition exacts every driving, energized particle from the air as they play, amplifying every single instrument's ability to stand out, even while part of a section riffing against another section--or several sections at once.Serendipity 18is a mesmerizing display, lit from the opening with big solos that charge ahead and inspire the band to rise up, throwing off peals of brass. Florence's piano is a strong voice, especially on the balladic opening to "Tres Palabras" and virtually all over the more uptempo, large-scale swingers, of which there are many. Florence's is theatrical, ambitious, highly successful music played by a fantastically powerful band--one of the best in the U.S.--Andrew Bartlett