Oranj Symphonette

The Oranj Symphonette is an experimental jazz-rock quintet from San Francisco, USA, formed from members of Tom Waits' band. They have released two albums.^[1]

The Oranj Symphonette

The Oranj Symphonette was formed by the members of Tom Waits 'band that used to jam in the middle of the recording sessions. They put two albums on the street, one of them cover versions of Henry Mancini, in a jazz version.

Led by cellist/bassist Matt Brubeck^[2] (son of Dave Brubeck), the group includes Joe Gore and manic multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney. Individually these three have played with the likes of PJ Harvey, the B-52's, Marc Ribot and more. Collectively, they met recording Tom Waits' score for the Jim Jarmusch film Night On Earth. They stayed in touch, and in 1993 began their reverent and loving deconstruction of Mancini's music. Joined by Scott Amendola, they debuted at San Francisco's Radio Valencia in 1994. Things developed infrequently until 1996 when they recruited Hammond organ/accordion virtuoso Rob Burger and began honing their explosive live chops.

Debut Album

Their Gramavision/Rykodisc/hifi debut, Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini, takes the work of Hollywood's most memorable composers and twists it in a way to make Henry proud. Cutting ties with the European symphonic tradition that previously dominated film scoring, Mancini made ingenious use of jazz and rock combos, swingin' pop idioms, ethnic instruments and oddball electronic devices.

The song "Charade" from the album "Oranj Symphonette plays Mancini" was used as the background song on the radio show of Pancho Muñoz ("el tumbadito") in the mid 90's on Radio Del Plata, Argentina.

The album blends weighty musicianship with swinging giddy fun, from the spy-punk rampage of "A Shot In The Dark" and the sleazy exotica of "Lujon" to the fearsome psychosonics of "Mr. Yunioshi" and the stunning beauty of Brubeck's cello on "Moon River." "Free Improvisation," notes Matt, "is a lot of fun for the musicians, but it has a tendency to leave the audience in the dust. However, when your original reference point is as well known as, say, 'The Pink Panther Theme', you don't lose people on the ride. There is a long jazz tradition of re-working popular songs into vehicles for improvisation. This band just gets its material from some unusual sources."

Discography

• The Oranj Album 1998^[1]
• Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=3030 All About Jazz, Oranj Symphonette, By ED KOPP Published: November 1, 1998, Ed Kopp, Retrieved February 8, 2011.
2. ^ http://dropd.com/issue/40/OranjSymphonette/, Matt Brubeck of the Oranj Symphonette, Retrieved February 8, 2011.