“Recorded live in the South of France as part of the “”Moondog Season””, the new album from the 13-member Neo-Bigband, Initiative H, highlights the work “”Sax Pax for a Sax”” by composer Moondog, originally recorded by the London Saxophonic in 1994.
The arranger and bandleader, David Haudrechy, pays tribute to “”Viking of Sixth Avenue”” with this quivering homage to the magistral work and thus presents an avant-garde project which has long been expected by jazz lovers. We discover the unique and clear encounter between a visionary composer and an adventurous orchestra. The large ensemble, Initiative H, revives Moondog’s unique music and breathes new life into it: remixed, intensified, and modified; even if this meant knocking around the original compositions.
Founded in 2012 by David Haudrechy, Initiative H took the ambitious challenge to create a dense, modern and passionate music transcending the genres jazz, rock, electro and 20th century music. The powerful sound of this 21st century orchestra is fed by the energy of a big collective project where each musician has ist certain place. The interpretation is masterly, the engagement absolute and the listener will be completely absorbed by the telling power of this music. A musical adventure, human, urban, which makes Initiative H an unavoidable entity of the renovation of the French jazz scene. It developed his own, liberate, musical language as much inspired by Berlioz and Moussorgski as by Gill Evans, Carla Bley, but also King Crimson and Arvo Part. Unexpected and paradox like in a slalom is the musical process between the different projects surrounding the band.”
