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, ...