Quotes about JKO and Jim Knapp [ > back to Press Kit ]
"Jim Knapp's music is full of intensity, emotion,
and creative textures with many varied influences. His music should be
more known. It's among the best of orchestral jazz being written these
days. Refreshing..." –Maria
Schneider, jazz composer
"The Jim Knapp Orchestra's debut album, On
Going Home, was by and large
impressive; this second recording is much more so, and for one unvarnished
reason: the SQ (swing quotient) is noticeably higher from end to end.
This is true even
on ballads, two of which 'The Nearness of You,' and 'Where
or When' showcase the orchestra's stellar vocalist, Jay Clayton...
Crowning
the album are saxophonist Lee Konitz's 'Subconscious Lee' and
the Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz standard, 'Dancing in the Dark.' All
of the glowing arrangements are Knapp's, and the orchestra plays them
with exceptional boldness and accuracy. To put it another way, everyone
is simply having a wonderful day at the office, especially the soloists
who include saxophonists Mark Taylor, Hans Teuber and Rob Davis; trombonist
Jeff Hay, pianist John Hansen, bassist Chuck Bergeron, drummer Jon Wikan
and, above all, trumpeter Jay Thomas, one of the West Coast's unsung
heroes, who submits sharp and perceptive improvisations on no less than
seven tracks. Meanwhile, Wikan, Bergeron and Hansen keep the rhythm section
percolating while Brad Allison spearheads a surprisingly emphatic three-man
trumpet section." –Jack
Bowers, Jazz Improv
"I was especially impressed with two originals,
'Without Joe Henderson..,' and 'O Paler Mind' as well as the delightful
version of 'Subconscious Lee' and the closing 'Dancing In The Dark.' The
arrangement of 'Little Drummer Boy' is also excellent....considerable musical
intelligence, good humor and solid swinging on this rewarding disc." –Duck
Dunn, Jazz Times
"Things
For Now is a testament to the burgeoning skill of Knapp as a bandleader,
composer, arranger and organizer. His rare breed of musicianship was
exhibited with the release of On Going Home (Seabreeze 1995), Knapp's
initial orchestral recording. In comparison, Things For Now shows
great strides in every facet of the music-making progress." –Jason
West, Earshot
"Let me tell you, this
is a superb band! It’s
made up of the really top players in the area. Mark Taylor heads up a great
reed section, Jay Thomas a top-notch trumpet section, Tom Varner on
French horn bridges the gap to the trombones, with Jeff Hay and Dave Marriott.
The outstanding rhythm section of John Hansen (piano), Phil Sparks (bass),
and Adam Kessler (drums) is an important part of the band.
These guys, combined with Jim Knapp’s world-class
arranging skills, make for gorgeous sounds – soul food for the
ears!
The band has three CDs: On Going
Home (Seabreeze), Things for Now (A Records), and Secular
Breathing (Origin). The best one? There isn’t one. They’re
all super, so flip a coin or get them all. The sonics are a bit better
on the Origin CD, but don’t
let that stop you. The music on the others would be worth having even on
a piano roll." –Dick Mueller, Jazz Journal
"Knapp's
lyrical, sophisticated, Gil Evans-like arrangements roil like clouds on a
blustery day, with multiple themes surfacing and submerging in the complex
harmonies. He also uses the best musicians in town." –The
Seattle Times
"Trumpeter Jim Knapp is a veteran composer and
arranger whose band is full of top notch players such as saxophonist/flutist
Hans Teuber and trumpeter Jay Thomas as well as up-and-coming youngsters.
It's a rare treat to see a big band these days, especially one comprised
of locals, but Jim Knapp's deep musical well and expansive palette keeps
the musicians and crowds coming back.
–James Kirchmer, The Stranger
"Things For Now (A Records). The
first track of this outstanding jazz album sets the tone for the entire
project. 'Without Joe Henderson' is a 6:20 exploration of an idea previously
set forth by the saxophonist on his 1967 Milestone album, The Kicker ('Without
A Song'). According
to the liner notes, the full title is 'Without Joe Henderson This Song
Would Not Be Possible.' While most were happy just to enjoy Henderson's
reworking, Jim Knapp felt compelled to take the experiment to the next
step. This kind of fascination with 'what
might happen' makes Things For Now a cerebral fireworks show, equal parts
flame, spark and color, riveting to the last note.
Experimentation pays
off again on 'O Paler Mind,' a Knapp original
that is a musical palindrome, meaning the band plays to the halfway point
and then continues backward, ending at the beginning. Headphones and darkness
are recommended for this track. It's quite the trip. There are a few traditional-sounding
moments here as well, most notably the Hoagy Carmichael classic, 'The
Nearness Of You,' with Jay Clayton turning in a superb vocal. Jeff Hay's
trombone solo here is sublime.
Knapp and his 13-piece band have made something
very special that will please casual listeners and thrill students of the
form. The musicianship is top-flight all the way, and the ideas are solid.
The conclusions they reach are well worth hearing." –D.J. Johnson, Amazon.com
"While composer Robin Holcomb, in residence
at the Cornish College of the Arts the week of the concert, was the
putative headliner of this late February date, the reality of this multi-faceted
performance was closer to a revue.... Central to the proceedings
was Jim Knapp's orchestra which included such stalwart Seattle area players
as trumpeter Jay Thomas, drummer John Wikan, and pianist John Hansen. Knapp's
ability to combine the long threaded harmonies of the impressionists
with the modern jazz orchestra finds remarkable continuity in shifting
personnel and compositions. That the orchestra sounded equally assured
behind Knapp's own charts as well as the demanding contrasts of Holcomb's
works provided testament to its range and professionalism." –Joseph
Murphy, 5/4 Magazine
"Knapp is a colorist in the Gil Evans vein, using
airy and open brass voicings (with French horn), whirling interlocking
parts, and complexly developed themes. Like Evans, Knapp also loves flat
out swing (dig his arrangement of Billy Strayhorn's 'U.M.M.G.'). It's all
there: great melodies ('Fomepi', 'East of Enumclaw'),
hot solos (Jay Thomas, Jeff Hay, Mark Taylor, and Chuck Deardorf) and subtle
arranging surprises that pop out like stars in the early evening sky." –Paul
De Barros, The Seattle Times
"This recording by a fine Seattle-based large
ensemble has much to recommend it. All tracks feature the kind of complex
writing for which Knapp is well known. He has consistently gathered seasoned
and talented players to his band. The album will not disappoint those who
rank Knapp's band as the area's premier large jazz group." –Peter
Monaghan, Earshot
"Jazz
composer and arranger James Knapp makes it clear that bebop, big band,
free jazz and Latin rhythms can be at their best when combined into an
an exciting and high-powered whole. At a concert last week, the Cornish
faculty member kept his 14-piece band swinging with continuous explosions
of brass throughout a program of mostly original material. The all-star
band featured many of Knapp's world class musician colleagues who also
make their home in Seattle. A dynamic arrangement of 'Don't Cry for Me
Argentina' took a few wild freestyle turns with trombonist Julian Priester
and trumpeter Jay Thomas trading improvised solos that mutated the tune
from a ballad to a big band romp. Priester and Thomas also wowed with salsa
punctuation on the Latin-flavored Knapp tune 'Forward and Backward.'"
–Ted Fry, The Seattle Weekly
"Stylistically, the Jim Knapp Big Band
reminds me of Ellington's 1940's ensemble. Like Duke, Knapp selects musicians
by paying close attention to individual tonal quality. His exacting arrangements
place emphasis on group sound and are firmly rooted in a classical Western
tradition, stressing technical precision over spontaneous feeling. Though
all his soloists are talented improvisors, there are few moments when
the ensemble sound does not take precedence. This is Knapp's greatest strength,
creating smooth textures and even tones.... Knapp's band accomplishes
the unity of few large ensembles. Their complex textures expand and diminish
with the subtlety of an ocean breeze, fierce and stormy one moment, the
next calm and reassuring." –John Atkins, 5/4 Magazine
"While
utilizing a conventional big band instrumentation, except for the French
horn of Karen Halsey, Knapp turns the instruments toward unusual groupings,
liberally using fermata interludes to develop contrasting sections and
soloists. Through unexpected antiphonal pairings such as French horn and
bass trombone, Knapp reinforces a classical Gil Evans-inspired sense of
drama. One particular trademark, derived from Knapp's extensive work scoring
for dance groups, is his melding of solo and ensemble work. He eschews
background and foreground sections in lieu of ebbing sections that join
soloists with ensembles in a harmonically fluid, open ended manner. Combined
with a sense of motif that surprises with its unexpected placements and
restatement of primary melodies and the occasional display of sections heading
off in Ivesian misdirection, the Knapp Big Band attains an almost cinematic
narrative quality while maintaining a link to the rhythmic tradition of
the Jazz big band."
–Joseph
Murphy, Jazz Now
"Whether they are limning the lines of Billy
Strayhorn's 'U.M.M.G.' or threading through innovative originals like 'Waltz
it 2 Ya,' Knapp's serene sense of texture and intricate thematic developments
are much in evidence." –Paul
De Barros, The Seattle Times
"A big band is a rare treat in itself these
days, but to hear one as the vehicle for Jim's exceptional compositions
and arrangements was bliss itself.....He takes a big band sound and pulls
it apart, making angles with color and mood at 45 degrees from our conception
of big band music. It seems that Gil Evans would be writing like this,
were he still alive. The compositions had ravishing chords and melting
melodies. And they provided backdrops for some truly dazzling solos..."
–Annabelle
Wilson, Earshot
© 2007 Jim Knapp.