Album Review: Rezurrektion from Wayne Alpern

Album:  Rezurrektion
Artist:  Wayne Alpern
Label: Henri Elkan Music
Website:  www.waynealpern.com

Reimagining compositions is a talent of arranger, composer and leader Wayne Alpern that has garnered him worldwide notoriety.  His 2023 offering Rezurrektion features a string quartet, the Sirius Quartet, that integrates jazz idioms into a classical repertoire.  The recording reconfigures 5 compositions of Mozart followed by a mash-up of works by Jonathan Larson and Edvard Grieg.  Another track is a reinterpretation of Duke Ellington's classic piece "Black Beauty" before closing with a reworking of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess."

The outcome is a lavish and bountiful feast that showcases Alpern's visionary inclination.  His penchant to meticulously knead chord patterns makes each note call to the listeners attention with effortless persuasion.  Listeners are naturally drawn to the music, hanging onto each phrase, each transition, each crescendo, and each ebb.  His proclivity to express the continuous movement of life is magnetic.

The movements of the strings produce a stimulating effect across "A Minor Sonata," oscillating between bustling flourishes and lamenting verses.  The complexity in the chord patterns is intriguing, holding the listener captive.  "F Major Sonata" is a slow strolling score, methodically progressing along the transitioning phases, escalating into a lofty crescendo that releases into ringlets of flowy, flickering strings.  Inside the compositions, listeners will find lyrical motifs linked to familiar pop and classical artists, triggering the collective consciousness that people share.  Alpern takes these motifs and sees them in another light that draws out new facets and expressions inherent in them.  A sleek, sensuality permeates in the strings across "Black Beauty" while solemn-like expressions unfold along "Porgy and Bess."

Alpern revives these classic compositions, expressing them in a new light stirred from his imagination and perceptive nature.  Drawing from the collective consciousness that people share of music from the jazz, pop, and classic realms, Alpern's music is inviting and uniquely fashioned from his vision.

Musicians:
Wayne Alpern - Composer/Arranger

Sirius Quartet:
Chern Hwe Fung - violin 1
Gregor Huebner - violin 2
Ron Lawrence - viola
Jeremy Harmon - cello