Calefax: An American Rhapsody
Pentatone

There are two obvious reasons why Calefax's fourth Pentatone release is so great: performance and repertoire. The Dutch quintet's reed players—Oliver Boekhoorn (oboe, English horn, duduk), Bart de Kater (clarinet), Raaf Hekkema (alto saxophone), Jelte Althuis (bass clarinet), and Alban Wesly (bassoon)—execute brilliantly, and the set-list is inspired and imaginative. For their nearly eighty-minute homage to America, they couple a terrific arrangement by Hekkema of Rhapsody in Blue with pieces by Florence Price, Harry Burleigh, Samuel Barber, Moondog, Kinan Azmeh, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and Stevie Wonder. While the Gershwin work has been tackled by many an ensemble and soloist, treatments of material by Holiday, Ellington, and Wonder make the release all the more special. Taken together, An American Rhapsody comprises a panoramic portrait of a country that has been a work in progress since its founding and continues to be so.

While Calefax's members are visitors, annual tours across the United States have established a strong bond between the group and the country, and their deep connection to the material on the release comes through in performances that are consistently vibrant—no one could possibly call them uninspired. That's never more true than in their five-part version of Gershwin's rhapsodic hybrid, a piece that, written in just three weeks, ever-so-deftly weds classical elements to jazz melodies and blues feeling. The moment de Kater introduces the piece with its infamous clarinet glissando, you know you're in for a fabulous ride. The textures the five generate are vivid, and the way Hekkema spreads the arrangement across all members is artful (see the amazing opening to the fifth part, for example). By the time Calefax's high-energy travelogue reaches its stirring conclusion, you'll be convinced that no arrangement better evokes the spirit of the work's big-city subject matter than this one.

The diversity of the country is well-spoken for in the selections, beginning with two movements from Southland Sketches by African American composer Burleigh. Created as a picturesque portrait of the Southern states and with melodies based on traditional spirituals, the music, arranged by Althuis, woos the listener with warm folk themes that sing through the woodwinds. To amplify dramatic impact, the group reverses the order of the movements in Price's Sonata in E Minor, choosing to start with the hymnal serenity of the “Andante” before turning to the livelier “Andante - Allegro.” Althuis's arrangement of Barber's Excursions, Op. 20 is as winning, especially when each part is compact in size and draws on folk sources too. All engage, be it the effervescent thrill-ride of the opening movement, the blues-drenched outpouring of the second, or the jubilant barn dance of the fourth; it's the lyrical third, however, that, with its allusions to “The Streets of Laredo,” proves most memorable.

After those ‘classical' pieces, Calefax turns its attention to jazz and popular material. “God Bless the Child” is, of course, associated with Billie Holiday (and pianist Arthur Herzog Jr.), but Eric Dolphy receives a credit too, specifically because of his well-known bass clarinet improv based on the tune. Also credited is Hekkema as it's he who created new material based on that solo for Althuis to play. Interestingly, one hears “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” as much as Holiday's original in that solo intro, but the haunting gospel-toned character of the ensemble performance recommends the piece as much. Captivating renditions of “Satin Doll” by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn and Duke's “In a Sentimental Mood” follow, Hekkema enlivening the enduring melodies of the former with a spirited arrangement and Boekhoorn providing a wonderful stage for sensitive expressions by all (mention must be made of the beautiful trade-offs between Boekhoorn's oboe and Hekkema's alto sax) in the latter. One of the project's most inspired moves was to include a cover of Stevie Wonder's “Overjoyed,” whose infectious rapture Hekkema captures splendidly in his arrangement.

March 2023