Description:
STEREOPHILE RECORDING OF THE MONTH APRIL 2015
Title: Cooperstown - Jazz Opera in Nine Innings (Revised version 2020)
Albany Records has announced the December release of Cooperstown by Sasha
Matson. "This is a revised version of a longer opera, and I feel that trimming
its dimensions has actually added an enormous focus and potency to the piece
and its essence," says Mr. Matson. Cooperstown utilizes five solo singers and
a 1950s-style jazz quintet, and is described as "a jazz opera in nine
innings". The full-length work was released by Albany Records in 2015. "Highly
recommended to jazz and opera lovers alike", said Fanfare; "Well sung and
inventively composed, this intriguing blend is a bracingly new mix of genres",
said Stereophile. "As happy as I was with the original version and in
particular the quality of the performers and their interpretation", says Mr.
Matson, "over time I came to feel that a revision would strengthen the piece,
so I plunged into waters that many composers have navigated before - revising
completed work - and in a way, it was more daunting than writing the original
in the first place!" The newly re-mixed audiophile recording of the one-act
edition of the work, first performed by Opera Las Vegas in 2019, has a running
time of 79 minutes.
1 CHART 1 1:55
2 FIRST INNING (DUTCH/ANGEL/MARVIN) 5:39
3 CHART 2 :53
4 SECOND INNING (LILLY/JAN/ANGEL/MARVIN) 7:09
5 CHART 3 :51
6 THIRD INNING (JAN/DUTCH/ANGEL/MARVIN) 6:39
7 CHART 4 1:23
8 FOURTH INNING (LILLY/JAN/ANGEL) 9:43
9 CHART 5 :52
10 FIFTH INNING (MARVIN/JAN) 5:55
11 CHART 6 1:03
12 SIXTH INNING (DUTCH/MARVIN/ANGEL) 6:18
13 CHART 7 1:18
14 SEVENTH INNING (LILLY/JAN/MARVIN) 7:11
15 CHART 8 1:29
16 EIGHTH INNING (ALL) 8:26
17 CHART 9 1:21
18 NINTH INNING (ALL) 10:08
TOTAL TIME 79:00
Artist(s): Julie Adams ......................... Lilly Young
Daniel Favela ................. Marvin Wilder
Carin Gilfry ........................... Jan Green
Rod Gilfry ................... Dutch Schulhaus
Daniel Montenegro ......... Angel Corazon
Gernot Bernroider, drums
Russ Johnson, trumpets
Rich Mollin, bass
Jason Rigby, saxophones
Sean Wayland, piano,
Hammond C3, Fender Rhodes
Conducted by Sasha Matson
Recording Info:
Band sessions recorded at Systems Two,
Brooklyn, New York, June 16–17, 2011
Engineered by Mike Marciano
Vocal sessions recorded at Schnee Studio,
Studio City, California, September 1–2, 2012
Engineered by Bill Schnee and Kenton Fukuda
Pro Tools editing by Justin Volpe
Mixed by Mike Marciano at Systems Two
Directed by Stephanie Vlahos
Produced by John Atkinson
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