Through a Sonic Prism: The Music of Antônio Carlos Jobim, by Doug Richards Orchestra

Through a Sonic Prism: The Music of Antônio Carlos Jobim

by Doug Richards Orchestra

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1.	Chovendo na Roseira 03:40	buy track
2.	É Preciso Dizer Adeus 04:24	buy track
3.	Samba de Uma Nota Só 05:37	buy track
4.	Falando de Amor 04:34	buy track
5.	Chega de Saudade 05:51	buy track
6.	Insensatez 03:56	buy track
7.	A Felicidade 05:53	buy track
8.	Lígia 07:03	buy track
9.	O Grande Amor 06:04	buy track
10.	Sabiá 03:35	buy track
11.	Samba do Avião 02:44	buy track
12.	Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Você 04:38	buy track
13.	Meditação 07:28	buy track
14.	Retrato em Branco e Preto 06:49	buy track

about

At some point in the summer of 2020, I heard a rumor that Richards was crafting arrangements for a Jobim big band project. Inspired by Jobim’s sublime oeuvre, as well as Richmond vocalist Laura Ann Singh’s expertise in the art of Brazilian music, the buzz around town was that Richards had already created over a dozen new Jobim charts. My interest piqued, I gave Douga call: “It’s true, man. I’ve been down the Jobim rabbit hole. Would you like to come by the house and check out what I’ve been doing?” Hell yes.

So began the unique odyssey of the Doug Richards Orchestra Covid-era project to record fourteen arrangements of Jobim songs in the full precarity of 2020-2022. Making a big band record at any time is a complicated endeavor. Making one during a full-blown pandemic and attempting to maintain the health and sanity of eighteen musicians, as well as a producer, studio engineers and staff, is a whole other exercise in disaster control. Oh yeah, and we were also trying to make a great sounding record. As you can imagine, the process was not without challenges.

Richards’ music is demanding. It requires rehearsal. Sure, you can individually woodshed the charts in the cozy confines of the practice room, but the cold reality is that the band needs to work through the music in real time—together—in order to deftly execute the sly rhythmic nuances, dicey harmonic sequences, and thorny ensemble passages that reliably emerge on the pages of a Doug Richards arrangement. To get the band prepared for the studio, we hatched the following plan: Doug and I would meet at a local watering hole and coordinate calendars, scheduling sectionals, a full band rehearsal, and a subsequent recording session with the goal of tracking four to five charts per session. After several frustrating false starts, the project seemed doomed. Eventually, the vaccine came along and smoothed out the process. By the Spring of 2022, we concluded the last of three fruitful recording sessions at Richmond’s Spacebomb Studios with fourteen tracks in the can.

The musicians on Through a Sonic Prism represent the best of the vibrant jazz community of Richmond, Virginia. They unselfishly offered their unique skills to this collective project, infusing it with a sense of humanity and a palpable depth of feeling. Intelligent, loyal, and generous, these talented folks are a testament to the creative ecosystem Richards helped build in Richmond, beginning with his tenure at the helm of Virginia Commonwealth University’s jazz studies program in the mid-1980s. Though I never formally studied with Richards—a fact he occasionally voices with an exasperated air of regret—I’ve relished the countless times he has schooled me on the art of jazz drumming: the unpretentious swing of Dave Tough, the majestic humanity of Max Roach, the effortless transparency of Victor Lewis’ approach, and the supreme intelligence of Mel Lewis’ creativity have all been topics that pointed me into new areas of discovery. This project was another lesson at the school of Richards: the soulful magic that is the music of Tom Jobim, filtered through the prism of Maestro Richards’ luminous imagination. I look forward to the next lesson.

Brian Jones
November 2022

credits

released September 15, 2023

Doug Richards - arranger, conductor
Laura Ann Singh - vocals

Woodwinds:
John Winn - lead alto, clarinet, bass clarinet
Jim Nesbit (1, 3, 6-9, 11, 12, 14) - alto, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, piccolo
Lauren Serpa (2, 4, 5, 10, 13) - flute, piccolo
J.C. Kuhl - tenor, soprano, bass clarinet
John Wittman - tenor, soprano
Rick Rieger - baritone, alto

Trumpets/Flugelhorns:
Roy Muth - lead (tracks 1, 3, 6-9, 11, 12, 14)
Mike Davison - lead (tracks 2, 4, 5, 10, 13)
Bob Miller
John D'earth
Taylor Barnett

Trombones:
Bryan Hooten - lead
Pete Anderson
Toby Whitaker
Philip Jones - bass

Piano/Keyboard:
Daniel Clarke (tracks 2, 4-6, 8-10, 12-14)
John Toomey (tracks 1, 3, 7, 11)

Guitar:
Adam Larrabee

Bass:
Randall Pharr

Drums:
Brian Jones

Produced by Trey Pollard
Engineered by Curtis Fye and Alex Dejong
Mixed by Curtis Fye
Mastered by Gene Paul of G&J Audio

Associate Producers:
Doug Richards
Brian Jones
Colin Killalea

Photography by Peter McElhinney and Emily Bolden

Cover Image by Colin Killalea

Booklet Design by Austin Lynch

Recorded at Spacebomb Studios, Richmond, VA on January 30, February 27, and March 27, 2022

©2023

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about

Doug Richards Richmond, Virginia

Composer, arranger, educator

dougrichardsmusic.com

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