MAY 2009 ONLINE EDITORIALS

Ethos West Chamber Orchestra & Just Jazz Quintet - Buddha Jazz

album cover

By Tim Maddocks

Ron Holleman, the conductor of the Ethos West Chamber Orchestra and the leader of the Just Jazz Quintet, earned an Arts Alive fellowship to produce a CD featuring his original Shambhala Suite. The suite is a collection of five movements inspired by Buddha and Buddhist personalities.

The Arts Alive fellowship, though, provided a springboard for a disc that’s broader than Holleman’s unique and original composition. This CD is delightfully diverse. It begins with an original number written by JJQ pianist Bob Montgomery which is followed by some Vivaldi and Frank Bridge covers. The playing is superb. The selections and pacing of the album is nice. The original pieces stand as bookends for the classics.

And the Shambhala Suite serves as quite a finale. It’s performed by both the jazz quintet and string players. The jazz motors forward and interacts with the almost spiritual undertones of the strings. It’s a very swingy upbeat composition. I think that the album as a whole details the variety and skill of professional musicianship that can be found in Northern Colorado. Also, I have to note, this is probably the only CD in town that has a conch playing on it, only going to show that you conch go wrong with this album!
www.ethoswest.org
www.justjazzquintet.com