[This Christmas with Imani Winds; Koch International Classics CD 7748 (2008)]
In its latest newsletter, Imani Winds calls attention to its 2008 release This Christmas with Imani Winds; Koch International Classics CD 7748:
“A collection of holiday favorites reimagined for the wind quintet by Valerie Coleman and Jeff Scott, 'This Christmas' is available on iTunes and Amazon.com.”
Here is an excerpt from a review by Carol Swanson:
“Imani Winds is an unusual and outstanding NYC-based wind ensemble, one well known for its adventurous spirit, colorful musicality, and creative ability to incorporate African and Latin American influences into its art. In other words, This Christmas successfully marries classical with jazz and world influences, creating the most marvelous musical meld. Terrific!
“This seasonal album is generous (nearly an hour!), which means that each track, on average, runs four full minutes, allowing for meaningful development. The song selection ranges from the seriously sacred to the playfully secular, and all pieces are familiar favorites. Imani Winds attacks the gamut with ease, and all tracks shine.
“The quintet includes bright voices (flute, piccolo), mid-level winds (clarinet, French horn), and throaty, soulful sounds (oboe, bassoon). Imani Winds' guest musicians provide percussive rhythms, as well as piano and bass support. The album opens innocently enough with a solo flute playing the melody line of Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella; as the bars progress, other wind instruments join. By the second verse, the boppin' percussion and syncopated rhythms take over, and what initially appeared to be a simple, straightforward execution has in fact blossomed into sophisticated, world-class fun. Before it's over, the first track covers more than six minutes, bursting with shifting tempos and tones--and setting the standard for what is to come. Brilliant!”
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