Damani Phillips, a saxophonist and assistant professor of music at Grinnell College, my alma mater, has made an album titled The String Theory, with the same instrumentation as the Crescent Double Quartet — jazz combo plus string quartet.
The String Theory features Phillips, mostly on alto, while the strings provide support and layering textures for his formidable improvisations on arrangements of classical and jazz pieces. The CDQ integrates the strings into original compositions, and the string players occasionally improvise. Both ensembles are fueled by the rhythmic drive of jazz.
The piece embedded above is Phillip's arrangement of Bizet's "Habanera" from Carmen. "Pavane," another selection from The String Theory, has an arresting section for strings. Listen to it at the "Listen" section of Phillips' website.
The String Theory features Phillips, mostly on alto, while the strings provide support and layering textures for his formidable improvisations on arrangements of classical and jazz pieces. The CDQ integrates the strings into original compositions, and the string players occasionally improvise. Both ensembles are fueled by the rhythmic drive of jazz.
The piece embedded above is Phillip's arrangement of Bizet's "Habanera" from Carmen. "Pavane," another selection from The String Theory, has an arresting section for strings. Listen to it at the "Listen" section of Phillips' website.
At this blog, I have been fixated on the Crescent Double Quartet. It's intriguing to find another group with the same distinctive format.
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