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Ryan Truesdell: Shades Of Sound

By Pierre Giroux
May 22, 2025
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Ryan Truesdell's Shades of Sounds:

Gil Evans

composer / conductor
1912 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Gil Evans Project Live at Jazz Standard Vol. 2 is a triumphant continuation of his lovingly curated Gil Evans Project—a musical venture focusing on both preservation and revelation. With this latest volume, Truesdell guides us through Evans' well-known sonic landscape and deeper into the vaults, unearthing four never-before-recorded arrangements that offer a renewed understanding of the composer's nuanced brilliance.

Truesdell's decision to record live at Jazz Standard is both philosophical and practical. Evans, ever the alchemist, often preferred the spontaneity and emotional volatility of the stage. Here, the music has the freedom to breathe, swirl, and shift—the brass decays into the room, the reeds melt into soft harmonics, and the rhythm section pulses with an urgency. This exemplifies how the context of performance alters perception; these arrangements are not just played—they happen.

The album opens with "Spoonful," a blues-infused song originally written by

Willie Dixon

bass, acoustic
1915 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">Willie Dixon and popularized by

Howlin' Wolf

vocals
1910 - 1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Howlin' Wolf. Raw, dark, and gloriously unvarnished, the number crackles with kinetic energy. The band enters the blues framework with conviction, and

Danny McCaslin

" data-original-title="" title="">Danny McCaslin offers a gritty tenor solo that barrels along, filled with rhythmic jabs. The Fran Landesman/Tommy Wolf composition "The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men" was a fixture of the Evans book and is a study of subtlety and melancholy. The piece is approached with restraint and exquisite control. The tasteful solos from pianist

Frank Kimbrough

piano
1956 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Kimbrough and trombonist

Ryan Keberle

trombone
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Ryan Keberle work well with the ensemble's inner voices.

The first of the previously unrecorded Evans numbers is "Laughing At Life" and features the band's long- time vocalist, Wendy Giles, who swings the tune with an unhurried elegance. Solos by tenor saxophonist

Tom Christensen

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Christensen and altoist

Steve Wilson

saxophone
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Wilson gently ride the pocket, while the rhythm section provides just enough propulsion to allow the arrangement to bloom organically. Another of the previously unknown Evans originals is "Neetie's Blues." This is a slow-burn gem with its simmering tempo and haunting voicings. The soloists Christensen, Kimbrough and drummer

Lewis Nash

drums
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Lewis Nash dig in with earthy authority, elevating the track into a soulful meditation on longing and resilience. Returning to Evans' well-known repertoire, the

Kurt Weill

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht number from The Threepenny Opera, "Barbara Song," is constructed as a ballad and is a marvel of orchestral storytelling. Evans builds the musical narrative as the orchestration grows in complexity. The ensemble plays with theatrical flair but never loses its jazz backbone. McCaslin's solo navigates the twists and turns with nimble lyricism.

The closer is "Buster's Last Stand" from the 1940s and was written for the

Claude Thornhill

vocals
1909 - 1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Claude Thornhill Orchestra. Drummer Nash sets the pace, which is angular and rhythmically volatile. The orchestra hits like a machine in overdrive with every accent and phrase calculated for maximum tension and release. Trumpeter

Greg Gisbert

trumpet
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Greg Gisbert provides a scalding ride that is fierce, unrelenting, and urgent.

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Track Listing

Spoonful; The Ballad of the Sad Young Men; Laughing at Life; Neetie��s Blues; I Had Someone Else Before I Had You; Barbara Song; It��s the Sentimental Thing to Do; Buster��s Last Stand.

Personnel

Ryan Truesdell

composer / conductor

Steve Kenyon

saxophone

Steve Wilson

saxophone

Dave Pietro

saxophone, alto

Donny McCaslin

saxophone, tenor

Scott Robinson

saxophone, tenor

Brian Landrus

saxophone, baritone

Tom Christensen

saxophone, tenor

Alden Banta

woodwinds

Adam Unsworth

french horn

David Peel

french horn

Augie Haas

trumpet

Greg Gisbert

trumpet

Mat Jodrell

trumpet

Ryan Keberle

trombone

Marshall Gilkes

trombone

George Flynn

trombone

Marcus Rojas

tuba

James Chirillo

guitar

Frank Kimbrough

piano

Additional Instrumentation

Jay Anderson: bass; Lewis Nash: drums; Lois Martin: viola; Wendy Gilles: voice.

Album information

Title: Shades of Sound | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Outside in Music

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