The distance

Description

"The Distance" represents a significant creative advance for bassist and composer Michael Formanek, after two albums released on ECM leading his quartet with Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, and Gerald Cleaver, widely acclaimed by critics. The new album illustrates his richly textured compositions for a dynamic big band composed of 18 musicians, joyfully called Ensemble Kolossus. The project has seen some of the most distinguished musicians from the New York scene join in to realize Formanek's epic tapestry, as he reimagined the big band in his own way. Channeling sounds ranging from classical to modern, he has also composed pieces for individual soloists, in the Ellingtonian tradition. Alongside the romanticism of the album's title track, "The Distance" features the suite "Exoskeleton" - a kaleidoscopic musical experience that brings to life Formanek's beautiful and bold vision of a 21st-century jazz orchestra.