Recording of the Week, Jim McNeely, Frankfurt Radio Big Band & Chris Potter, 'Rituals'

Pictured: Chris Potter

Of all the 20th century classical works to cross over into the jazz sphere, none seem to resonate more with musicians and composers alike than Igor Stravinsky’s ‘Le Sacre du Printemps’ (‘The Rite of Spring’) – it’s hardly uncommon for jazz musicians to take on classical works, but there’s quite the longstanding fascination with Stravinsky’s controversial ballet. Given the size of the work, there are of course not as many recorded instances of jazz groups performing ‘The Rite’ in its entirety, but examples do exist; take The Bad Plus’ trio recording from 2014, for instance, or the lesser known Takeshi Inomata Group’s ‘Jazz Rock Version’ from 1970 (sadly neither version is particularly easy to find on physical media). Other jazzy recordings of ‘The Rite’ will often condense the first two movements of ‘Adoration of the Earth’ into one, and even more often focussing on ‘The Augurs of Spring’. However, Rituals is not simply a jazz big band recording of the ‘Rite’ – the ‘Rituals’ piece itself was commissioned by the Alte Oper Frankfurt after the 2013 Stravinsky Festival, a task given to pianist and bandleader Jim McNeely, with the help of saxophonist Chris Potter as well as the hr-Big Band (appearing here as the Frankfurt Radio Big Band). No doubt the similarities between ‘Rituals’ and ‘Le Sacre du Printemps’ will be pretty apparent to discerning listeners, but McNeely’s original piece is not plagiaristic, rather a loving tribute – following its positively-received premiere, Potter and the band headed into the studio to immortalise it on record.

Pictured: Jim McNeely

Though this is no clone of the ‘Rite’, McNeely composes in the spirit of Stravinsky with even more of a jazz tinge, and when Potter enters the picture things really fall into place; ‘Sacrifice I’, for instance, becomes equal parts Stravinsky and ‘Giant Steps’ as it begins to take off. Obvious similarities to ‘The Rite’ aside, there is the occasional homage to the Stravinsky original peppered throughout ‘Rituals’; ‘Adoration I’ opens the record with a lone melody that’s so close to the beginning of Stravinsky’s work it’s almost as though McNeely’s playing with our expectations, with the ‘Augurs of Spring’ channelled heavily in the brassy stabs that come in around the 3-minute mark; if you weren’t already aware you’re listening to a Stravinsky tribute, you are now. ‘Adoration II’ similarly builds on Stravinsky’s work, taking the slowly lumbering bassline from ‘Spring Rounds’ and replacing the eerily rising strings with slightly more harmonious woodwinds, complimented by a slowly shuffling drum beat.

The latter half of the record is composed of Potter originals treated to McNeely arrangements, with the first of the bunch ‘Dawn’ – originally featuring on his 2013 ECM record The Sirens along with ‘Wine Dark Sea’ also included here – acting as a palette cleanser of sorts after the angular and aggressive ‘Rituals’, while the immediately proceeding ‘The Wheel’ is a funk-filled bluesy number by comparison. Potter provides the leading voice of the pieces throughout, and it’s hard not to feel like the arrangements would sound empty without him there – even when his solos start to edge into skronky territory it’s still pretty tasteful in the context of the suite. Though the influences for ‘The Ritual’ are hardly subtle – the description on the record itself refers to a ‘sound language’ of Stravinsky that McNeely drew upon – it serves as both a flattering tribute and excellent listen.