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Dan Dean: Vocalise
ByFanfare for the Common Man (Origin Records, 2021) followed (review here), with Dean diving deeper into this layered vocals form of expression.
For those of a "but is it jazz" frame of mind, these previously mentioned setsand the one at hand, Vocalise, could not be, by any stretch, called jazz, if that matters. Call them "studio-crafted, experimental classical works." Dean explores the music of Vivaldi, J.S. Bach and more on Songs Without Words; he examines Aaron Copland, Mendelssohn, Holst and, again, Bach on his Fanfare For the Common Man. With Vocalise we hear Dean's take on compositions by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Holst and Gabriel Fauré.
This glorious musicsoaring, symphonic, mind-bending, intricate, complex yet ultimately approachableis an immersion into a modern nondenominational spiritual vision from the melding of Dean's creative vision with some classical greats.
"Sergei Prokofiev: Toccata in D Minor, Opus 11" sounds like a twenty-voice choir joining hands with a doo-wop band (pompadours not required), "Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire d'un Soldat, Triumphal March of the Devil" sounds aggressive, a sonic knocking down of the city gates. "Gustav Holst: Suite 1, Mvt. 2, Interlude" bubbles with joy, while "Sergei Prokofiev: Montagues and Capulets" hums like the background noise of the pre-bigbang universe. Then it explodes, followed by a dreamy reverie. How Dean made this with just his voice is a mystery. As it is with much of the album.
And if Dean's choice of material leans deeply into the profound and weighty classical composers, he closes the show with a surprise: "Mark Knopfler: Going Home (Theme of the Local Hero)" from the pen of the front man of the rock group Dire Straights. It is an uplifting and reflective piece the guitarist wrote for the movie Local Hero, that sounds here, in Dan Dean's re-creation, as profoundly beautiful as all of the music that precedes it.
Track Listing
Sergei Rachmaninoff: 14 Romances, Vocalise Opus 34, No.14; Sergei Prokofiev: Toccata in D Minor, Opus 11; François Couperin: Les Barricades Mystérieuses; Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire d'un Soldat, Triumphal March of the Devil; Gustav Holtz: Suite 1, Mvt. 2, Interlude; Sergei Prokofiev:: Montagues and Capulets; Gabriel Fauré: Pavane in F# Minor, Opus 50; Sergei Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G Minor, Opus 23, No. 5; Sergei Prokofiev: L'amour des Trios Oranges Marche, Opus 33; Mark Knopfler: Going Home (Theme of the Local Hero).
Personnel
Dan Dean
bassAdditional Instrumentation
Dan Dean: fretless bass, vocals, whistle.
Album information
Title: Vocalise | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Dan Dean Music