Anders Koppel: Mulberry Street Symphony
Unit Records

Mulberry Street Symphony isn't the first time a work for jazz ensemble and orchestra has been created; it is, however, an exceptional realization of the form and one that could stand as a model for anyone thinking of taking on the challenge henceforth. Many things are remarkable about the double-CD release, two of which stand out immediately: first of all, in place of two instrumental forces alternating, they're fully integrated, so much so that they play less like separable entities and instead a cohesive large ensemble fronted by three soloists; secondly, the balance achieved between the musicians is exemplary, with the dynamic levels of the orchestra and trio sensitively calibrated to maximize impact. The organic fusion of through-composed and improvised musics is nuanced and deftly handled.

It doesn't hurt that the jazz trio features the terrific alto saxophonist Benjamin Koppel, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer extraordinaire Brian Blade. The lead soloist throughout the work's seven movements, Koppel dazzles but so do the others, with both picking their spots and dynamically animating the music. The saxophonist plays with fleet-fingered agility and is as adept at waxing soulfully as riffing at light-speed. Colley and Blade epitomize responsiveness in their performances, not just to Koppel but to the orchestra too. Credit also must be extended to the Odense Symphony Orchestra and conductor Martin Yates for adapting themselves so fluidly to the work in its moment-by-moment unfolding.

None of that would matter much if the material they were given to work with wasn't as solid as it is. Danish composer Anders Koppel (b. 1947)—Benjamin's dad, of course—created Mulberry Street Symphony after viewing images by Danish-American immigrant, photojournalist, and social reformer Jacob Riis at an exhibit in Copenhagen. As someone with refugees in his own family history, Koppel found Riis's photos—impoverished immigrants desperately struggling to survive in late-nineteenth-century NYC after arriving from Eastern Europe—resonating so much they inspired him to write the work. Pinpointing seven images, he created its seven movements by distilling the essence of each photo (all shown in the release booklet) into sound.

The work was first performed on October 5, 2017 in Denmark with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and then the following week in Odense with the Odense Symphony, both times conducted by Yates. After the second performance, the trio played a foyer concert with the composer sitting in on Hammond organ, and one song from that after-hours concert, Benjamin's “Puerto Rican Rumble,” appears as a bonus track at album's end. The day following the concert, October 13, 2017, the work proper was recorded and is the one presented on the release.

Cinematically evocative, “Stranded in the City” shows early on the ease with which the forces combine and the sensitivity with which the trio weaves its playing into the whole. Whereas Blade and Colley never overplay, their focus more on ornamenting and enhancing the overall tapestry and supporting the saxophonist, Benjamin eagerly embraces his role as lead soloist in the way his bright alto acrobatically glides within the compositional framework. In contrast to the sometimes brooding tone of the opener, “Minding the Baby” captivates for its singing melody and gentle, lullaby-like character. Again we're reminded of the artful balance achieved by the musicians and struck by Benjamin's inexhaustible facility and soulful voicings.

Three movements are eight minutes or less, the others long-form excursions ranging from eleven to twenty. That even the longest, “Tommy the Shoeshine Boy,” retains a coherent shape despite such extended duration speaks highly on behalf of Yates as the one overseeing the performance and the trio members for attuning their playing so well to the whole. Pushing past eighteen minutes, “Bandit's Roost” is by turns mischievous, urgent, and swinging, especially when Colley and Blade push the music with freewheeling drive and the saxophonist soars. Benjamin's bluesier and funkier sides come to the fore for “The Last Mulberry,” his father's requiem for the last mulberry tree in Little Italy.

February 2022