For more information about the Meridian Arts Ensemble, please contact us. The Meridian Arts Ensemble: Anxiety Of Influence by Jim Sheldon-Dean, editor, The Music & Travel Report From the May, 1997 issue, by permimssion One of the perks of publishing the M&T Report on the Web is that I get inquiries from various groups and publicists about their sending me CDs for review. I hate to not listen to something that might be good and comes for free, but unfortunately most of what arrives is, ah, not good. Luckily, that's not always the case, and the Meridian Arts Ensemble's latest CD, "Anxiety of Influence" (Channel Crossings CCS 9796), is an excellent example of the good stuff. Meridian Arts Ensemble consists of two trumpets, a trombone, a horn, a tuba, and drums -- it's a wind chamber quintet plus percussion, and on this album there's also a guest pianist. This is not your garden variety chamber music, though. Instead MAE goes for the unusual and off-beat, effortlessly mixing styles from all over the musical map into a really unique sound and style. And, these guys are GOOD! "Anxiety of Influence" begins with a 21-minute set of Frank Zappa music arranged by trumpeter Jon Nelson, leading off with "Run Home Slow" and "The Little March" from Zappa's 1959 score for a cowboy movie, also heard on Zappa's albums, "The Lost Episodes" and "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Volume 5." Nelson's arrangements are simple and true to the originals, yet startling in their freshness -- this is, after all, an all-acoustic band. From there guest pianist Jon Klibonoff does an excellent, moving job with the solo piano introduction from the 1971 Fillmore version of "Little House I Used To Live In," and the ensemble version follows. The set is completed with drum solo and "new age" ensemble versions of "The Black Page." How are all these? Just great. I've always loved Zappa's more orchestral/classical pieces, and these are great examples, performed flawlessly. There's something just so clean and bright about all those horns that gives new life to Zappa's work. Following the Zappa pieces comes an incredible horns-only rendition of Debussy's "Sarabande," composed for piano in 1894 and arranged for horns by John Sheppard. This is a delicate piece that is played with such emotion and power that you find yourself breathing to it. It's a technically demanding piece that makes it clear just how good these guys are. A real winner. Stephen Barber's "Semahane (Whirling Wall)" is a modern piece with a hint of Varese in the opening and more than one reference to Zappa's "The Black Page." It's 21 minutes of intriguing music that you can find yourself humming a little bit of and wanting to know more. "Zen Monkey" by horn player Daniel Grabois follows, inspired by the likes of R.E.M., according to the liner notes, though I didn't catch the reference. Then, just when you think you have these guys figured out, they throw in "El Solitario," a traditional and very lively Afro/Cuban number lifted from East Harlem's Latin band, Orque de Chu Melendez, in which several of the MAE members also play. It's a romp! Is this really the same album? From there, they go on to do a set of variations by Stanley Silverman on a Kurt Weill theme, and a pair of numbers by tuba player Raymond Stewart -- all of this with plenty of variety in influences and results, all of it great. Overall? This is a brilliant CD. If you've been looking for Frank Zappa music that your mother could love, this is it, and you'll discover a lot of other great stuff to boot. And the sound is just amazing -- it was recorded in Amsterdam in an acoustically lovely hall that really gives the horns room to soar and blend. And, OK, I admit it, I'm enchanted by the tuba work -- at times you'd swear there was an electric bass playing. MAE has another five CDs out already on Channel Crossings -- I'll be tracking down the others, for sure. For more info on the MAE recordings, artists, and tour schedule, see their web page at: FG's homepage top of page This website and all content copyright © 2006 Meridian Arts Ensemble