Two Seconds to Midnight

Artist: Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra
Label: Sea Breeze Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 017231212720
EAN: 0017231212720
ASIN: B0000ZMHCE

Release Date: 2003-12-02

Related Categories:

General

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Listmania:

Rising Stars - Jazz

Tracks:

Song for Bilbao
Night & Day
Skylark
Two Seconds to Midnight
Sea Changes (Trio)
Out House
One Mint Julep
Dee Minor
Cotton Tail
When I Fall in Love

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Customer Reviews:

Don't miss this one.......2004-12-03

Extremely hot band and excellent, creative, innovative arranging.
Of special interest is the arrangement of Cottontail - the piano intro, three short bursts of "jungle music", solos by all of Ben Webster's progeny from small to big (solos from soprano, alto, baritone, and tenor sax), imaginative handing of the head of the piece, and a fake ending followed by a free-form unaccompanied piano solo. Literally something for every jazz afficionado on this disc. Highly recommended.

Go get your Visa and buy this album now!.......2004-09-15

With this project, Alan Baylock proves to God & everybody that his gifts for both composing and arranging music are gifts he does NOT take for granted! One of the most talented people I have had the pleasure of meeting, this Baylock guy puts together a band complete with some of the top musicians on the east coast ... or the Amalfi Coast ... or Cote d'Ivoire ... Pick a coast! Any coast! The Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra will swing it off the map! What's more, with the legendary Kenny Werner joining the ABJO for a couple cuts, you tell me how you can possibly go wrong! In Baylock's hands, standards like "Night & Day" and "Cottontail" quite suddenly aren't so "standard" after all. Now, when I hear Pat Metheny play "Song for Bilbao," it seems as though Alan's ideas are just plain missing from the texture. The title track on the album, "Two Seconds to Midnight" is a groovin' heavy hitter ... the kind of tune that made all the wanna-be-rock-n-roll-guitar-guys convert to "jazzology" back in college! (Don't look now, Mom & Dad, but your baby might just want to reconsider that nice, safe accounting career after listening to this one!)

For the record (no pun intended), you "studio-heads" can check your ProTools at the door! I can and will attest to the fact that this band sounds just as incredible live as it sounds on the disk!

In short: You need to drop some dough on this album, put it in your car stereo, glue the little door thingy shut, turn the volume WAY up, rip the knob off, and drive! ... umm ... *shrugs & smirks* ... that's what I did!

A New Jazz Writer Worth Paying Attention To.......2004-01-21

Even if I didn't know Alan Baylock from our common day job as staff arrangers for The United States Air Force Band in Washington, DC, I'd love his CD, "Two Seconds to Midnight." There's a little of everything here - from the high octane of Pat Metheny's "Song for Bilbao" to the brooding beauty of "When I Fall In Love"; from the Big Band-era swing of Duke Ellington to an original intimate trio outing - all of it orchestrated with a virtuosity equal to that of the instrumentalists who play it. A trumpeter, Baylock himself does not perform on this set, but he writes like someone who does, taking liberties with melody, harmony, form and groove, making every tune his own while giving his players plenty of room to contribute.

Virtually everyone in the band gets at least one moment in the spotlight. Guitarist Shawn Purcell pulls off an impressive mood swing: he snarls and rips through the funk-rock title tune (a Baylock original), flooring his wah-wah and cranking the distortion to 11; two tracks later he's bopping nimbly through Jerry Bergonzi's "Out House." Tenor saxophonists Jeff Antoniuk and Tyler Kuebler duel fiercely in the frenzied dash that is "Night and Day." Tim Leahey's warm, graceful flugelhorn complements the icy colors and brittle sonorities of reeds and muted brass in "Skylark." Baylock also enlists help from the major leagues: pianist Kenny Werner (with whom Baylock has studied arranging) sits in on two tunes, giving this project added heft.

Baylock has been with the Air Force Band since 1996. As principal arranger for their premier jazz group, the Airmen of Note, he hones his chops regularly with the national capital area's best musicians. It's a happy coincidence that his moonlighting gig is pretty much the same as his day job, and it makes "Two Seconds to Midnight" - his civilian debut - all the more polished and impressive. If you enjoy contemporary big-band jazz, you'll love this CD.

Listener's Choice.......2004-01-06

I'm a jazz DJ for WTJU FM radio. Once a month, on Monday mornings I do a show called "New Month, New Music" where I play cuts from the newest jazz albums to arrive at the station. I invite people to call in and tell me if they like or dislike an album, band or artist. The phones were fairly dead for a couple of hours until I put on Alan Balock's album and played "Cottontail." The phone line lit up, the most common comment being, "That's great, who is it?" Comments came from both musicians and general listeners. The arrangements are first rate and the musicianship as well, in my opinion. Top choice for anybody who loves contemporary big bands, of which I include myself.

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