ANTHONY BROWN’S ORCHESTRA (Water Baby Records WBR 1010)RHAPSODIES1. Prelude to The Legacy Codes (Anthony Brown) 1:182. Bread & Bowie [For Lester] (A. Brown, trad. arr. Brown) 6:21*3. Self Portrait in Three Colors (Charles Mingus) 3:17 Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies (Gershwin-Brown) (total 19:02)4. Exposition 5:155. Rumba/Recap 3:076. Gagaku 1:217. Scherzando 2:278. Andantino/Adagio 3:479. Taiko Trane/Finale 3:01 10. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Norworth, Tilzer, arr. M. Izu) :4211. Tang (Duke Ellington) 8:05 12. Come Sunday (Duke Ellington) 5:25*13. Anthem/Baile de Orisha (A. Brown) 9:17 14. Rhymes (For Children) (A. Brown) (Pacific Time theme music, PRI) 1:09All arrangements by Anthony Brown except as noted. (1, 2, 13, 14: Nikoku Music, ASCAP; 3: Jazz Workshop, Inc.; 4-9: WB Music Corp. and Nikoku Music, ASCAP; 10: PD; 11: Tempo Music, Inc.; 12: G. Schirmer, Inc.)Produced by Anthony Brown. Recorded January 16-19, 2005 @ Coast Recorders, SF, CA. Recorded and Mastered by Paul Stubblebine, assisted by Oliver Bradley and Lu Miranda. Tracks 1 and 14 recorded February 22 and September 15, 2003 @ Big Hut Recording, Berkeley, CA. Recorded by Bruce Buchanan, Robert Berenson and Mary Ann Zahorsky (14). Art direction by Anthony Brown, design and graphics by David Belove. All photos by Andy Nozaka unless otherwise noted.ANTHONY BROWN’S ORCHESTRAAnthony Brown-conductor, drumset, percussion, waterphoneWill Bernard-electric guitarDanny Bittker-bass clarinet, steel drumsGeorgia Brown-Western, Asian, African percussionLouis Fasman-trumpet, fluegelhornHenry Hung-trumpet, fluegelhornMark Izu-bass, Chinese mouth organ (sheng)Masaru Koga-tenor saxophone, Japanese flute (shakuhachi) Melecio Magdaluyo-baritone and alto saxophones, flute, cajón (Cuban box drum)Dave Martell-trombone, tuba Marcia Miget-flute, soprano and tenor saxophones Jim Norton-clarinet, soprano sax (13), bassoon, contra alto clarinet, contra bassoon Wayne Wallace-tromboneHong Wang-Chinese mouth organ, flute (dizi), violin (erhu), reed trumpet (suona) Yangqin Zhao-Chinese hammered dulcimer (yangqin) Special Guests: *David Murray-tenor saxophone (2), bass clarinet (12) Gangqin Zhao- Chinese harp zither (gu-zheng) (1), Chinese hammered dulcimer (4-6, 8,9) Frank Martin-piano (12) Kash Killion-cello (1) SUMMARYCompleting Anthony Brown's trilogy of homages to American composers, RHAPSODIES features a new version of George Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue with electric guitar, Chinese hammered dulcimers and steel drums replacing the piano. Also featured are Charles Mingus' Self Portrait In Three Colors, Duke Ellington's Come Sunday showcasing David Murray on bass clarinet, and several original compositions by Dr. Brown. REVIEWS/ARTICLES"Some 80 years after Gershwin first brought jazz into the concert hall, Brown is attempting something equally ambitious-inviting the world into Gershwin's soaring rhapsody." Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News, July 2, 2004"Brown's band, which mixes Chinese and jazz instruments with a raw, Charles Mingus-like energy, delivered a terrific program of new works and re-compositions of American classics by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and George Gershwin." Paul de Barros, Seattle Times, September 21, 2004 (review of 2004 Monterey Jazz Festival)"One of the hits of the 2004 Monterey Jazz Festival was a performance by an unusual orchestra led by drummer Anthony Brown that mixed together both Western and Asian instruments. Their version of"Rhapsody In Blue" was quite unique and earned a standing ovation. RHAPSODIES (Water Baby Records) has the 19-minute version of"Rhapsody In Blue" plus reworkings of Charles Mingus'"Self Portrait In Three Colors,""Come Sunday," a brief"Take Me Out To The Ball Game,""Tang" (from Duke Ellington's Afro-Eurasian Eclipse) plus four of Brown's colorful originals (including a tribute to Lester Bowie called"Bread & Bowie"). While the repertoire is wide-ranging, look at the instrumentation: two trumpets, two trombonists (one doubling on tuba), four saxophonists (who also play such reeds as shakuhachi, contra bassoon and contra alto clarinet), a bass clarinetist doubling on steel drums, guitar, Mark Izu on bass and the Chinese mouth organ, percussion, Hong Wong on Chinese mouth organ, dizi, erhu and suona, Yangqin Zhao on a Chinese hammered dulcimer, Gangqin Zhao on Chinese harp zither and also Chinese hammered dulcimer, and drummer Brown. David Murray also guests on two songs on tenor and bass clarinet. The unique RHAPSODIES, one of the most colorful recordings to be released in 2005, features a new type of jazz big band. Highly recommended and available from www.anthonybrown.org."Scott Yanow, Los Angeles Jazz Scene, February 2006"Listening to his children’s collection ofDisney tunes, Dave Brubeck was inspired toperform and eventually record songs fromsome of that studio’s animated classics. TheDisney influence reached into the jazz worldthree-and-a-half decades later in drummerbandleaderAnthony Brown’s Berkeley, Calif.,home.“My daughter, Georgia, was watchingFantasia 2000. When the ‘Rhapsody In Blue’segment came on, it was introduced by QuincyJones,” Brown said.Brown, an associate scholar at theSmithsonian Institution, knew Jones throughwork at the Institute. “We had been talkingrecently on the phone, and then a day or twolater he’s on the TV. Georgia runs up and says,‘Daddy! Quincy’s on TV!’”As Brown sat down to watch the segmentbased around one of Gershwin’s signaturepieces, the high school-era artist in Brown firsttook over. His current musical and scholarlythoughts quickly chimed in.“I was watching the images, and thinkingthat’s not the way I had visualized what wouldbe going on with the music,” he said. “Then Iwas listening to the orchestration. I thought,‘Not only would I have not done the visualsthat way, I wouldn’t have done the orchestralcoloring that way, either.’”That viewing of Fantasia 2000 planted theseeds to Brown’s own interpretation of thework with his orchestra, which features traditionalAsian instruments such the ehru (twostringChinese violin) and suona (Chinesetrumpet) as well as standard jazz ones. Theeventual “Rhapsody In Blue/AmericanRhapsodies” recomposition became the centerpieceof his Orchestra’s latest album,Rhapsodies (Water Baby Records).Rhapsodies is the third of a trilogy ofAnthony Brown Orchestra recordings dedicatedto interpreting the works of three greatAmerican composers through an Asian-American musical prism. Far East Suite, from1999, received a Grammy nomination for BestLarge Jazz Ensemble Album for its distincttake on the Ellington–Strayhorn masterpiece.Featuring the late Steve Lacy, Monk’s Moodwas released in 2002 and visited 10 Monktunes with a distinct Brown flavor.“When I was listening to ‘Rhapsody’ withmy daughter, I felt this is a chance to do somethingwith it for two reasons: one, because it’sindelibly linked to the American cultural fabric.Secondly, Gershwin never orchestrated hispiece,” Brown said.“Gershwin himself described his originalintent was to capture the kaleidoscopic demographyof America,“ Brown said about the originsbehind his own globally colored readingof “Rhapsody.”“After reading that, it sparked in my mindthat his kaleidoscope was black and white. Itwas pretty monochromatic. That’s probably allhe knew. If this is so inextricable fromAmerican culture, why not make it truly reflectiveof America today?”He’s included rumba, gagaku, taiko andhard swinging sections. Marcia Miget’sshakuhachi (Japanese flute) is a featured instrument,as is Will Bernard’s electric guitar. “It’san instrument that is truly American,” Brownsaid, with a chuckle, “versus piano.”Just as Gershwin wrote “Rhapsody” fromhis Manhattan perspective in the first quarter ofthe 20th century, Brown brought his SanFrancisco Bay Area-based cosmopolitan viewto his six-part recomposition. The son of anAmerican serviceman father and a Japanesemother, Brown worked his way up to armycaptain before earning a master’s in musicfrom both Rutgers and the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in ethnomusicologyfrom the latter.The 52-year-old drummer and percussionisthas been part of the Bay Area Asian-Americanjazz scene since the 1980s and continues tokeep “one foot in the academic world and theother in performance and composition.” As helines up performance dates around theRhapsodies recording, he’s also working onupdating his book Give the Drummer Some!,an academic look into jazz drumming that isdue out in 2007." —Yoshi Kato, DOWNBEAT, March 2006 DIRECTOR'S NOTESPrelude to The Legacy Codes (1:18) The musical score for The Legacy Codes was commissioned in 2003 by TheatreWorks for a fictionalized dramatization of the 1999 framing of Tawainese-American nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee by the FBI. Playwright Cherylene Lee asked if I could compose an introductory piece combining Chinese and American musical elements that would later be choreographed for three couples. I replied, “No problem.” Producer Amy Gonzales stated that Wen Ho Lee loved classical music, especially Bach, and could I include something “baroque-ish.” I thought I could thread the piece together with fugal counterpoint and said, “I’d love to.” Then she stated, “Oh, the piece should be about a minute long.” “Ooooo,” I said--they cut the wonderful saxophone cadenza by Marcia Miget for the show. Bread & Bowie [For Lester] (6:21) This tripartite composition was commissioned by Jazz In Flight for their Celebrating the Spirit of Lester Bowie program of the 12th Annual Eddie Moore Jazz Festival at Yoshi’s in Oakland, CA. Percussionist Don Moye and Bob Stewart on tuba joined the Asian American Orchestra in an unforgettable night of joyful noise, song and drums, broadcast live on KPFA-FM, on August 13, 2001. Lester Bowie personified the fundamental characteristics of the collective motto, “Great Black Music: Ancient to the Future”- heart and soul, humor and intelligence. In his mercurial majesty, with his trumpet and in his research lab coat onstage with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Brass Fantasy, he reigned as the heir to the legacy of the Trickster, the Eshu-Elegba-Eleggua figure of post-modern jazz. This recording features the indomitable David Murray’s signature tenor madness. (Trombone solo: Wayne Wallace)Self Portrait in Three Colors (3:17) The original 1959 recording by Charles Mingus served as the inspiration for this rendition: the composition is through-composed with no solo features. The melody is repeated three times, each repetition adds instruments and a new accompanying theme. This is dedicated to James Newton and Red Callendar, who provided me the direct link back to the Baron and the legacy of Central Avenue, Los Angeles, wellspring of 1950’s jazz innovators including, Dexter Gordon, Teddy Edwards, Sonny Criss, Chico Hamilton, Hampton Hawes, Buddy Collette, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Eric Dolphy, Billy Higgins, Howard McGee, Red Mitchell, Horace Tapscott, and many others.Rhapsody In Blue/American Rhapsodies (19:02) In his “American Rhapsody,” George Gershwin intended to mirror the tenor of his times and a progressive attitude toward race relations in a musical vision blending the styles he knew best: European and African American. Gershwin wrote Rhapsody In Blue, the final name for his new work, to be premiered by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra on Abraham Lincoln’s 115th birthday, February 12, 1924 in New York City. In 2005, Gershwin’s classic portrait is recast in American Rhapsodies as a 21st century mural of our world’s demographic mosaic, particularly as reflected in the San Francisco Bay Area, “Golden Gateway to the East.” (Clarinet: Jim Norton, guitar: Will Bernard, flute: Marcia Miget, Japanese flute (shakuhachi): Mas Koga, trumpet: Henry Hung)Take Me Out to the Ball Game (:42) The all-American song is performed by Mark Izu on the Chinese mouth organ, the sheng, the 2000 year old great, great, great . . . grandparent of the harmonica. Tang (8:05) Duke Ellington’s extended suite, Afro-Eurasian Eclipse, was inspired by Marshall McLuhan’s claim in his seminal book, The Medium is the Massage, that “the whole world is going oriental.” During China’s 8th century Tang Dynasty, the Silk Road flourished, linking East and West as the “ancient information super highway.” (Tenor sax solo: Mas Koga, baritone sax: Mel Magdaluyo)Come Sunday (5:25) Of the over two thousand compositions written by Duke Ellington, Come Sunday is my favorite. The 1958 recording of Mahalia Jackson performing this spiritual served as the model. Hong Wang’s plaintive 2-string Chinese violin (erhu), coupled with David Murray’s inspirited bass clarinet performance creates a duet in contrast like no other. The horn backgrounds, voiced in simulation of a choir, are adapted from Billy Strayhorn’s transcendent arrangement for the Ellington Orchestra. Anthem/Baile de la Orisha (9:17) Anthem is the finale of Mô, Shimasen! (Never Again!), an extended work commissioned in 1995 by the Asian Heritage Council to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first bars of the melody were inspired by the folk theme in the fourth movement of the Concerto For Orchestra by Bela Bartók. The contrasting middle section, Baile de la Orisha, is from another extended composition, Incantation Suite, originally commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber Music Society in 1983. (Flute solo: Mel Magdaluyo, soprano sax: Jim Norton)Rhymes (For Children) (1:09) This arrangement was recorded to serve as the theme music for Pacific Time, a syndicated weekly newsmagazine heard coast to coast on National Public Radio. Rhymes is originally from an extended work, E.O. 9066, about the Japanese American internment experience of WWII, commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1996, in collaboration with San Jose Taiko Group.