expect a wide variety of impeccably played themes that span sombre, majestic, moody, sinuous, grand, grandiose, edgy, frantic, unsettling, agitated, busy and intricate while sometimes charming and relaxing. All of it is interesting.
Outside In Music
BENNY BENACK III voice; ITAI KRISS, PIERPAOLO PECORIELLO flutes; ANDREW GOULD alto saxophone, flute; WALTER SMITH III, tenor saxophone; MANUEL TRABUCCO saxophones, clarinet; MATTIA FELICIANI bass clarinet; JESSE MCGINTY saxes, trombone, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet; ANDREA GUERRINI, MIKE CORDONE, NICK FRENAY trumpets; MASSIMO MORGANTI, BOB PILKINGTON, ANDREW ALCOCER trombones; CHEN WANG, MEN DI guitar; ISAMU MCGREGOR piano; NOAH JUSTICE bass; FEDERICO GUCCIARDO, KEVIN VAN DEN ELZEN, ROSS PEDERSON drums; ZHENGTAO PAN piano, bass
- Windy Days / 2. Hometown / 3. City Machine / 4. Dancing in the Dream / 5. It Could Happen to You / 6. Liar / 7. Mirror, Floating on the Water / 8. On That Bus / 9. Nardis / 10. Nightfall Over Shanghai / 11. Scenery in My Story
“Composer Zhengtao Pan Chronicles His Worldwide Journey in a Mosaic of Big Band Compositions” is how composer Pan describes his debut big band album. Pan was originally from Shanghai, China, and re-located to Boston to work as a jazz composer. So far, he has worked mainly in the computer gaming world, writing the music gamers hear when shooting or scheming in their parallel worlds on screen. Pan has won awards for big band jazz arranging. He has also worked with several symphony orchestras. Now he is experimenting with his own big band jazz.
‘Scenery in my Story” is intended, to quote the composer, “create a musical collage drawn from his fascinating life experiences…… moving from Shanghai to Boston, with experiences shaped by the people, places and events with which he interacted”
Pan himself warns that “some tunes are extremely dissonant and compositionally complex, reflecting my negative feelings”. But other tracks “are simple and straightforward, capturing the joy of good weather or the charm of a passing cat.”
“Regardless of whether the music is consonant or dissonant” he says, “I strive to keep the melodies memorable and engaging, as I believe melody is essential to storytelling.”
My first impression, on dropping the needle (laser, actually) was of a brass band playing music of the type you definitely won’t hear from a park bandstand on a summer afternoon. This is strong full-bodied stuff. And it’s hard to define, describe or explain. Don’t expect much in the way of simple catchy melodies, or down-home 4/4 swing. Instead expect a wide variety of impeccably played themes that span sombre, majestic, moody, sinuous, grand, grandiose, edgy, frantic, unsettling, agitated, busy and intricate while sometimes charming and relaxing. All of it is interesting.
It comes as no surprise that Pan cites Maria Schneider, Debussy and Stravinsky as influences, along with folk music from China. A couple of tracks (It Could Happen To You and Nardis) are based on Jimmy Van Heusen and Miles Davies tunes.
Personally, I have never been much grabbed by the concept of life experience concept albums; I am more interested in how the music sounds, than what was in the composer’s mind. So, I think the fairest way to sum up this one is to quote Pan himself. ‘Scenery is my Story’, he says, “is a very modern but very accessible big band album.”
Not everyone will find it all accessible; and some parts less so than others. So, again, it’s best to let the composer speak for himself.
“The opening track, “Windy Days,” sets the tone for the album” Pan says. “The coastal breeze in Boston reminds him of Shanghai, which is also a breezy, coastal city. The melody of “Hometown” was influenced by traditional folk tunes and children’s songs. Pan very much misses his family, and you can hear his longing in the music. “City Machine” opens with the rat-a-tat machine sound of drums, which introduces Pan’s first impressions when he arrived in New York City. The music changes pace on “Dancing in the Dream,” which Pan wrote about a woman who dreams about becoming a dancer despite a serious leg injury. The music swirls like a ballerina performing a pirouette. Pan re-imagines “It Could Happen to You” as a hip, abstract warning that things, like Covid, can happen to you.
Pan says he was inspired to write “Liars” after “observing a close friend’s experience of navigating a relationship-and wrestling with the ethics of lying to someone you love in an attempt to protect them.” There is high tension throughout this piece. There is also some cracking good crackling trumpet.
Pan wrote the dark tune “On That Bus” to commemorate the people who died in a bus accident.
Track 7, ‘Mirror, Floating on the Water’ floats dreamily. Pan describes it as having “a gentle, wafting feel, almost like watching your reflection in gently rippling water.”
“Nardis”, he says, was inspired by Joe Henderson’s version of “Inner Urge.
“Nightfall Over Shanghai” is Pan’s homage to Shanghai’s skyscrapers and recalls his “first experienced standing atop the Jin Mao Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Shanghai”.
The album closes with title tune “Scenery In My Story,” which Pan describes as “a lush, sweeping composition that encompasses the beauty and excitement Pan feels about his journey through life.”
You can learn more from Pan’s website Zhengtaopan.com.
