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The Subway Ballet by Randy Sandke and the Metatonal Big Band
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fave it Contemporary | Big Band
18 tracks | 62 minutes
Released Apr 2006
on Evening Star
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- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:21 Watch The Closing Doors BUY MP3 01:21 Watch The Closing Doors "GIFT MP3" 01:21 Watch The Closing Doors
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 05:39 Dance of the Downtown Punks BUY MP3 05:39 Dance of the Downtown Punks "GIFT MP3" 05:39 Dance of the Downtown Punks
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:11 Electriglide BUY MP3 01:11 Electriglide "GIFT MP3" 01:11 Electriglide
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 04:31 Dance of the Wall Street Brokers BUY MP3 04:31 Dance of the Wall Street Brokers "GIFT MP3" 04:31 Dance of the Wall Street Brokers
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:37 Steel Wheels BUY MP3 01:37 Steel Wheels "GIFT MP3" 01:37 Steel Wheels
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 04:37 Dance of the Hassidic Diamond Merchants BUY MP3 04:37 Dance of the Hassidic Diamond Merchants "GIFT MP3" 04:37 Dance of the Hassidic Diamond Merchants
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:17 Making Tracks BUY MP3 01:17 Making Tracks "GIFT MP3" 01:17 Making Tracks
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 04:23 The Blind Beggar Encounters the Korean Peddler BUY MP3 04:23 The Blind Beggar Encounters the Korean Peddler "GIFT MP3" 04:23 The Blind Beggar Encounters the Korean Peddler
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:04 Momentum BUY MP3 01:04 Momentum "GIFT MP3" 01:04 Momentum
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 04:43 Dance of the Midtown Career Women BUY MP3 04:43 Dance of the Midtown Career Women "GIFT MP3" 04:43 Dance of the Midtown Career Women
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:46 Straphanging BUY MP3 00:46 Straphanging "GIFT MP3" 00:46 Straphanging
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 04:43 Pas De Deux BUY MP3 04:43 Pas De Deux "GIFT MP3" 04:43 Pas De Deux
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:16 Express Stop BUY MP3 01:16 Express Stop "GIFT MP3" 01:16 Express Stop
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 09:22 125th Street BUY MP3 09:22 125th Street "GIFT MP3" 09:22 125th Street
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 04:40 Red Hook Blues BUY MP3 04:40 Red Hook Blues "GIFT MP3" 04:40 Red Hook Blues
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 03:16 Happy Birthday Berlin BUY MP3 03:16 Happy Birthday Berlin "GIFT MP3" 03:16 Happy Birthday Berlin
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 05:14 How Did It Get So Late BUY MP3 05:14 How Did It Get So Late "GIFT MP3" 05:14 How Did It Get So Late
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:28 Realization BUY MP3 02:28 Realization "GIFT MP3" 02:28 Realization
Serious Music but not without humor. Highly accessible but making use of advanced metatonal harmonic ideas.
Editorial review
The idea of a "subway ballet" is a rather strange one, mixing the idea of a noisy mode of transportation with the most subtle of art forms. Obviously, this will be a ballet fit for modern dance, the kind, say, that Charles Mingus might have written. Randy Sandke, in fact, has gathered a rather large group called the Metatonal Big Band that is somewhat reminiscent of Mingus' bigger outings. The Metatonal Big Band can play it soft and easy, as on "Pas de Deux," or downright loud and dissonant as on "Dance of the Downtown Punks." It should be noted that while the entire work is divided into 14 parts, it's more or less of a piece; in this aspect, then, The Subway Ballet is not unlike Rhapsody in Blue. One of the elements that make Sandke's suite so interesting is the spacious arrangements and unusually instrumental pairings. On the very short "Electriglide," the piece begins with a walking bassline, then adds flute and trumpet to good effect. The album is filled out with a number of cuts from 1998, including "Red Hook Blues" and "How Did It Get So Late." The Subway Ballet is both intriguing and unusual, and should intrigue jazz fans tired of the same old same old. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide
Bio / Background
Randy Sandke has performed at festivals, clubs, and concerts around the world. He has toured Europe over forty times and performed extensively throughout Japan, the U.S., Canada, and India.
Randy has recorded over twenty albums as a leader, primarily on the Concord, Nagel-Heyer, and Evening Star label. A recent discography, published by the Dutch jazz scholar Gerard Beilderman, runs to 53 pages. Among the artists Mr. Sandke has recorded with include the instrumentalists Michael Brecker, Benny Goodman, Kenny Barron, Dick Hyman, Mulgrew Miller, Bill Charlap, Eric Reed, Frank Wess, Ray Anderson, Chris Potter, Sweets Edison, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Wycliffe Gordon, Warren Vache, and Mel Lewis. Singers include Mel Torme, Jon Hendricks, Rosemary Clooney, Cab Calloway, John Pizzarelli, Gregory Hines, Art Garfunkel, Barbara Carroll, Dr.
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