Search - Bob Belden :: Three Days of Rain

Bob Belden
Three Days of Rain
Genres: Jazz, Pop, Soundtracks

Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
1. Three Days Of Rain (Main Title)
2. Falling Down
3. Blues For Dennis
4. Tess
5. Her Lost Smile
6. Big Joe
7. Homeless
8. Conscience
9. Panic
10. Homeless
11. Anniversary
12. Tess Montage
13. End Title (Master)

CD Details

All Artists: Bob Belden
Title: Three Days of Rain
Members Wishing: 2
Total Copies: 0
Label: Sunny Side
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 4/25/2006
Genres: Jazz, Pop, Soundtracks
Styles: Modern Postbebop, Bebop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 016728115322

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Bob Belden's orchestral album Black Dahlia was a cinematic work in search of a film. The songs on Three Days of Rain were written for a recent movie of that name starring Peter Falk but have the feel of a classic jazz session. In both cases, there is plenty of atmosphere to absorb, with lyrical commentary from standout soloists including tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and pianist Marc Copland. Inspired by the stories of Chekhov, Three Days of Rain tells the stories of a half-dozen contemporary characters struggling to get by in Cleveland. The music ranges from rainy-day pieces with a bluesy Miles Davis feel (Scott Wendholt is featured on trumpet) to soulfully swinging hard bop tunes featuring Ronnie Jordan or Al Street on guitar. It's a reflection of Belden's skills as a composer that the music hangs together even though two different rhythm sections are employed (pianist Kevin Hays' alternates with Copland's) and that, though the songs will gain in meaning from a viewing of the film, the album stands alone perfectly well. Two unaccompanied performances are noteworthy: Lovano's modernistic clarinet musings on "Panic" and Jason Moran's elegant, expansive piano solo to close this aural production. --Lloyd Sachs

CD Reviews

I'm surprised I'm the first one to review this great disc

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 03/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Certainly one of the three greatest movie soundtracks ever recorded (the other two being, in my humble opinion, The Year of Living Dangerously and The Mission), this music stands on its own as a noir-ish suite of great poignancy and beauty. I'm especially taken by the wistful playing of Joe Lovano, who's always had a way with ballads, but here ups the ante to the stratosphere, especially on the main theme, trading lines with Scott Wendholt who also shines brightly.

Featuring some of the finest players in jazz (the greatly underregarded Kevin Hayes on piano; Dwayne Burno, another neglected great, on bass; Joe Chambers, still another player deserving wider recognition, on drums; young legend Jason Moran on piano, and others), this disc contains various combinations of rhythm and lead players in solo, trio, quartet, quintet, and sextet settings. That music containing 11 different artists in widely varied contexts could all hang together so seamlessly attests to composer Belden's clarity of vision and genius in picking like-minded players as well as their ability to translate his ideas into gloriously heartfelt playing.

I'm entirely taken by the mood of triumph in the face of down-and-out circumstances that pervades this disc. Special kudos goes to Kevin Hayes for rendering passages of great precision and soulfulness--probably the finest music he's ever put on disc.

Very much worth acquiring."