Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Chicago Jazz Orchestra: Burstin' Out!

Chicago Jazz Orchestra: Burstin' Out!

By Matt Marshall
October 2, 2013
View read count

Covering the Great American Songbook can be tricky, thankless work for a singer. The options for handling the material just aren't as numerous (i.e., nigh infinite) as they are for instrumentalists. Severely warping a melody, chopping it up or getting rid of it altogether work perfectly well if you're blowing through a horn. But such abstractions of voice can seem forced or simply too weird within a straight-ahead format. There's scatting, of course, and other forms of nonverbal vocalization, but they rarely score on the same level as instrumental solos, and they can turn stale or quaint-sounding pretty quickly.

Enter

Cyrille Aimée

vocals
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Cyrille Aim��e. Over the course of the last several years, the French singer has established herself as one of the more innovative interpreters of this music. Her sound is classic, tinged with the exotic. Her vocals thrill with technical proficiency, yet don't lack emotional nuance. Yes, she scats (quite a bit, actually), but as a natural—and very instrumental—extension of her verbal singing. All her skills are on display here, allowing her to mix exceedingly well with the

Chicago Jazz Orchestra

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Chicago Jazz Orchestra . It's notable that track particulars list Aim��e as a soloist like any other in the band. For while she certainly has a more prominent position in these performances than singers often did in the heyday of big band music, where they might come in for a verse or two at the end after the big-gun instrumentalists had had their say, this album is by no means simply an Aim��e vehicle with CJO assigned to the boiler room. Through both its orchestrated sections and plentiful solo statements (pianist Dan Trudell is a particular standout) the band plays just as prominent a role as Aim��e.

As the album's title suggests, the performances tend toward big, brash swing. Many of the arrangements come from the band's artistic director, Jeff Lindberg, though other band members lend a hand as well. Still other arrangements are adapted from the likes of Duke Ellington and

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie. Fans of

Frank Sinatra

vocals
1915 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Sinatra's work with

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim will be intrigued or distracted—perhaps both—by Lindberg's faithful use of Claus Ogerman's arrangement of "Dindi."

Aim��e has recorded a handful of these songs before, albeit in smaller settings. And her approach certainly changes to adapt to the grander backing, her style a bit less free, more refined, with even some of her scatting dialed back to play as but another instrument in orchestrated section pieces. Again, group sound is emphasized over the individual. And all in all, CJO and Aim��e have produced a compelling, highly enjoyable record—a testament, of sorts, to the continuing power of straight-ahead big band jazz in the contemporary music world.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

What a Little Moonlight Can Do; September In the Rain; A Night In Tunisia; Sometimes I��m Happy; Dindi; Yardbird Suite; Easy Living; Cheek To Cheek; Long As You��re Living; Them There Eyes; I��m Through With Love; It Don��t Mean a Thing (If It Ain��t Got That Swing).

Personnel

Chicago Jazz Orchestra

band / ensemble / orchestra

Jeff Lindberg: artistic director, conductor; Charley Harrison: associate artistic director; Cyrille Aim��e: vocals; John Wojciechowski: alto sax, flute; Bill Overton: alto sax; Scott Burns: tenor sax; Eric Schneider: tenor sax; Jerry DiMuzio: baritone sax, flute, alto flute; Danny Barber, Doug Scharf, Marquis Hill, Art Davis, Victor Garcia: trumpet, flugelhorn; Scott Bentall, Tom Garling, Kendall Moore, Andy Baker: trombone; Michael Young: bass trombone; Dan Trudell: piano, Fender Rhodes; Dennis Carroll: bass; George Fludas: drums; Charley Harrison: guitar; Lisha McDuff: flute, alto flute; Darlene Drew: flute, alto flute; Janice MacDonald: flute; Lyon Leifer: flute; Daniel Won: clarinet, bass clarinet; Jennifer Cappelli, Eugene Pazin: violin, co- concertmasters; Bernardo Arias, Karl Davies, Pauli Ewing, Roberta Freier, Katherine Hughes, Whun Kim, Betty Lewis, Carmen Llop Kassinger, James Sanders, Paul Zafer: violin; Patrick Brennan, Matthew Mantell, Cheryl Wilson: viola; Barbara Haffner, William Cernota, Jocelyn Davis-Beck, Edward Moore: violoncello; Robert Kassinger: double bass; Marcia Labella: harp; Steve Ramsdell: acoustic guitar; Rub��n Alvarez: bongos, shaker.

Album information

Title: Burstin' Out! | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Origin Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Jazz au Chellah Festival 2013
< Previous

Take Five With Cheryl Pyle
Next >

Chicago Jazz Orchestra Concerts

Oct 19 Sun

Chicago Jazz Orchestra With Devon Sandridge

Winter's Jazz Club
Chicago, IL

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.