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Extra soundbites included below, CD's also available from me: hleach@xs4all.nl
*New! Now also available from iTunes!*
* on "The Virgo Supercluster Suite"
"The beauty of this project, in part, comes from the fact the music is composed by members of the group. It's written especially for the individuals playing it, and that spirit of collaboration is ever present in the music.
Hazel Leach and Christina Fuchs have contributed exciting and creative new music full of intricacy and beauty and it is presented by stellar players. This very special group deserves wide recognition."
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788K
540KA silent room, somewhere out in the nowhere,
no light and no illusion of time,
there's a diffuse clearness around
like someone playing silent sounds,
some shadows painting landscapes on walls,
you wonder what happens behind these shadows,
dancing inside this silent room
somewhere, out in the nowhere there is no light, but
nothing can harm you, gravity's holding you
in the milky way nice and sweet, feeling home in the silent room.
844K + Toil and trouble +
644K + Hurly Burly
516K
340K... Like the late Duke Ellington, Fuchs and Leach create colours in
which the individual instruments are difficult to place, and like Ellington,
they write for the individual solistic personalities in the UWO, eliciting
inspired solos. They choose rhythms which are superficially relaxed and
swinging, but are intrinsically complex. They take their time, developing
stories slowly, without brashness. Three extended compositions exceed the
10-minute limit, without ever becoming tedious. How influential Ellington
was can be heard in Leach's "Sweet for Evie", where the Ellington sound
is revitalised: his own story is told in the Master's own language.
There's a lot to say about every piece on "Virgo Supercluster": better
to listen to it..... Jazz Podium (D), Thorsten Meyer 6/03
New York has Maria Schneider, Germany has The United Women's Orchestra.
After the remarkable second album "The Blue One", the band has shocked
the male jazz cartel again with orchestral girlpower. The expressive compositions
penned by the leaders Christina Fuchs and Hazel Leach weave the most diverse
strands of the genre into a new, original texture, through which the harmonic
subtlety of a Gil Evans glistens as well as the cool melody of a Kenny
Wheeler and the lateral experimentation of an early Vienna Art Orchestra.
The thoroughly emancipated result is "exciting and creative new music,
full of intricacy and beauty" as Maria Schneider, the 'Grande Dame" of
contemporary big band jazz puts it. Agreeably different is not only the
repertoire of the UWO, but also the instrumentation. A tuba replaces the
bass-trombone, and the voice of Céline Rudolph supplements the horns
as a instrument- a further parallel to the forward thinking of Vienna and
Canada. Central to the album are two atmospheric and dramatic suites with
great solo performances, among others by guest trumpetist Ingrid Jensen.
Has the Y-chromosome been made redundant?
Jazzthing (D) Falko von Ameln 4.03
..This is truly thinking music, and sets a mood for sophisticated pleasures.
Homage pieces to the Universe, Duke Ellington, and inspirations from traditional
polyphonic vocal music are all contributing inspirations to this marvelous
body of work. Tight horn licks and slammin' solo's line the disc. Brava
to all of the fine united women!
www.femalemusician.com
03/03 Theresa Orlando
...the women's orchestra grooves with elegance and ease. Every note
is appropriate, the brass, including Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, form a solid
section, the woodwind show a tight brilliance and the rhythm section swings,
whether intensely or light as a feather. Both leaders are expert in exploiting
the richness of the ensemble, setting quiet dialogues against powerful
tutti. Whether in "Cerasarda", inspired by traditional Sardinian song,
or in the multi-layered "Virgo Supercluster Suite", everything is spot
on. The WDR sound-engineer Bardo Cox has conjured audio transparency from
the opulent richness. The prognosis is audacious: The United Women's Orchestra
may teach the male bigband competition a lesson.
Assessment: music:9, sound:9, repertoire:9. Stereoplay 2/03 Sven
Thielmann
Female bandleaders are rare, all-women bigbands are even more unusual. This one is unequalled, and takes on the male competition with ease. Some of the compositions by leaders Christina Fuchs and Hazel Leach are award-winning. The musical reflections about light and shade, birth, life and death or origins and space are neither hectic nor fussy; the contributions of the 13 soloists (guest: trumpeter Ingrid Jensen) are exemplary. Audio Live 2/03 Peter Steder
...The compositions on "Virgo Supercluster" sound new and challenging, whilst at the same time maintaining an authentic bigband sound, thanks to the tight section-work and numerous improvisations. Definitely recommended! Vrouw en Muziek NieuwsBrief, 1/03 Clara de Mik
This is the third album by the cutting-edge United Women's Orchestra
of Cologne, Germany, and as before, one of the most daunting tasks facing
a reviewer is describing the music therein. If distilled into a single
word, that word would perhaps be "adventurous", although "expansive" would
certainly apply, as would "captivating" or "passionate". Maria Schneider,
a rather impressive composer/arranger in her own right, summarizes her
thoughts in the liner notes: "[Co-directors] Hazel Leach and Christina
Fuchs have contributed exciting and creative new music full of intricacy
and beauty, and it is presented by stellar players." Indeed they have,
and indeed it is.
Taking their cue from Schneider and such other pioneering orchestrators
as Ellington, Gil Evans, George Russell, Carla Bley, Julius Hemphill and
others, Leach and Fuchs have outdone themselves again to produce the orchestraís
finest recording to date, one that is appreciably enhanced by the presence
(on three selections) of guest trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. The UWO seems to
acknowledge no boundaries, nor do the restless imaginations of its co-leaders...
As conceded earlier, "Virgo Supercluster" is decidedly cutting-edge and
may not be everyoneís cup of tea. On the other hand, it is as deliciously
seasoned and easy to swallow as such music can be, and those who consume
each of its seven courses should find their craving for solid music that
assuages oneís appetite more than amply rewarded. All
About Jazz (web magazine) 1/03 Jack Bowers
The United Women's Orchestra can afford the rare luxury of having two in-house composers and arrangers. While Leach tends towards the Ellington-school, working to some extent with folk elements, Fuchs shapes a landscape from transparent to abstract structures, partly reminiscent of Kenny Wheeler, and aimed directly at the emotions. As diverse as their styles are, they succeed in integrating their sound into a common form. The strength of the band lies in the conviction and communication of a musical energy, even when drummer Carolina Bigge's solid playing rejects the usual bigband-required ker-thud during the musically and dynamically complex high point of the CD - Fuchs' "Lost One"... Pianist Julia Hülsmann is absolutely captivating both as sidewoman and as soloist: her clear, elegant playing goes far beyond the standards of rank virtuosity. Céline Rudolph creates intense intimacy within Fuchs' concept with her sensitive vocals. The band scored a hit by inviting the Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen as guest-soloist: she plays "Cluster" with experience and inspiration. Stadtrevue Köln 1/03 Volker M. Laprich
The originality of a bigband is crucially dependant on the arrangements. Hazel Leach and Christina Fuchs have each developed their own handwriting from the literature of modern jazz for The United Women's Women's Orchestra. "Shadow and Light" moves between the opposites of swing and groove, through which Annemarie Roelofs weaves elegant lines and trombone multiphonics. The muted tones of star-trumpeter Ingrid Jensen reach for clear heights above a drum rubato. But the players also explore the scenario of intergalactic worlds in "The Virgo Supercluster Suite", prompted by Silke Eberhard's growling bassclarinet. Rich orchestrations and brilliant solos are the UWO trademarks of this excellent album. Hans Dieter Grünefeld, Music Manual.Winter 2002/03*****
..I have to say that this new project ... has to be one of my favourite
releases this year. As before the original music nudges at the boundaries,
but at the same time produces some extraordinarily beautiful moments as
well as traditional 'swing' interludes. Make the effort to find this CD,
you will be elevated by the experience.
We have trumpeter Ingrid Jensen as a guest on several tracks, a considerable
bonus. Maria Schneider is a notable champion of the orchestra, in fact
those who have bought her remarkable recordings will be more than satisfied
with this project.
I feel I have to mention two of the more serendipitous features of
the CD. One is the stunning vocalising of Celine Randolph, wordlessly with
the sections or singing an ethereal homage to the grandeur of the universe.
I really have no other way to say that. What I must do is underline that
that particular interlude is part of a wonderful musical experience and
can be enjoyed superficially by anyone, or at an intellectual level if
so moved.
The other phenomenon on this CD is "Sweet for Evie". This is an original
piece by co-leader Hazel Leach, a tribute to a very special lady in Ellington's
life. The Duke would be enchanted by this tribute, perhaps he would wish
he had penned it. In any case it is breathtakingly beautiful, instantly
recognisable as an Ellington tribute. To me, among many outstanding in-house
arrangements, this could be a classic, it has 'standard' qualities. Unfortunately,
I doubt anyone could perform this with the same feeling. John Killoch.
Mainly
Bigbands 11/02
20 women as a poem...they are so good, that many male egos are sent
reeling. The complex scores are written by the composers Hazel Leach and
Christina Fuchs from the sax section....Of course, these women haven't
invented jazz, but they have bestowed it with a special distinction. The
orchestra doesn't sound "feminine". Instead:Gil Evans was here!
And:They like it hot! Here you will find neither the dreary traditionalism
à la Herbolzheimer, nor the orgiastic freedoms of The Globe Unity
Orchestra....
To fully grasp the interdisciplinary aura of this orchestra, I can
recommend reading the essays of the American violinist Malcolm Goldstein
"Sounding: The Full Circle": "People who make music. Firstly, people who
are doing something. Improvisation as a social weaving of people, focussed
within a single context; not a piece of music, but the totality of our
living being. A dynamic process; each individual unfolds, breathing extends
to become movements of the sound-being." Die Zeit Nov 02 Michael Naura.