Metropolis

Of the several releases by Breuker that concentrate on the work of composers other than himself, Metropolis (along with Parade and Sensemaya) is one of the best. Only two of the pieces here are by the Kollektief's leader: a short, moody work with a noirish soundtrack quality and his lengthy "Spanish Wells," one of his most successful compositions of this type, previously recorded in 1982 on the Rhapsody in Blue release (BVHaast 044). The piece owes a large debt to the spaghetti western soundtracks of Morricone (whose "Chi Mai" is given a delightful reading here) and, unlike many of Breuker's suite-like works, coheres excellently even while ranging over disparate styles. The hoedown theme running through "Spanish Wells" is one of his most infectious and the soloists, especially Breuker himself on bass clarinet and violinist Lorre Trytton, are superb. The title track is a rarely performed piece by Ferde Grofe, originally introduced by Paul Whiteman's orchestra in 1928. It shares a certain affinity with Gershwin's major works, if coming down slightly more on the classical than jazz side of the street. Breuker's much-praised arranging abilities are clearly evinced here as he scales things down for tentet augmented by a string octet while retaining a true richness and depth. The vocalizations midway through by Kollektief members, in the role of Whiteman singers Bing Crosby and Harry Barris, are worth the price of admission. But the standout performer of the date is Dutch musical jester Toby Rix, a master of both the harmonica and the Toetrix, an assemblage of tuned car horns. The latter is used to deconstruct Haydn's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, Third Movement in wondrous and hilarious fashion, all the more so when one considers that Wynton Marsalis had been establishing his classical credentials with this piece around the same time. The disc ends with three amazing little encores featuring Rix's breathtaking harmonica skills and an utterly insane car horn version of "I Want to Be Happy." Highly recommended.