With 'Ariabesques' Bill Dobbins and the WDR Big Band bring Johann Sebastian Bach's "Goldberg Variations" to new life, it's presented as a double CD in six panel digipack with a 12-page booklet.
The American composer, pianist, jazz teacher and conductor Bill Dobbins has worked with many popular musicians of various genres and has taught at the Eastman School of Music on several occasions. In the 1990s, Dobbins first came into contact with the renowned WDR Big Band in Cologne and was chief conductor from 1994 to 2002. For years, their cast has included international stars such as Karolina Strassmayer and Ludwig Nuss. In 2007, the WDR Big Band received its first Grammy and has many other recognised successes.
The "Goldberg Variations" are not the first Bach compositions that Dobbins and the Cologne team have dared to write. A jazz version of Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" with the well-known ensemble "The King's Singers" was released in 2010. Originally composed for the two-manual harpsichord, Dobbins transformed the 'Goldberg Variations' into an impressive version for big band by swapping repeated notes with short breaks.
Through the fusion of the original melodies and the most important notes of the bass lines with impressive solos, Bach's characteristics build a stringent basis that creates original sound impressions with funky jazz elements and makes the work a completely new experience.
