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Remembering the Rain

A Jazz View

Year recorded

2014

Year published

2015

Composer

Arthur Hamilton

Béla Bartók

Benjamin Schaefer

Bill Evans

George Enescu

Jerome Kern

John Coltrane

John Lewis

Valentin Radutiu

Artists

Valentin Radutiu

Benjamin Schaefer

Marcus Rieck

Tracks

Tr. 1 Bill Evans: Interplay

Tr. 2 George Enescu: Languire me fais

Tr. 3 Jerome Kern: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Tr. 4 Arthur Hamilton: Cry Me A River

Tr. 5 Valentin Radutiu: Interlude

Tr. 6 Benjamin Schaefer: Almería

Tr. 7 Bill Evans: Turn Out the Stars

Tr. 8 Béla Bartók: 6 Romanian Folk Dances Sz 56 for Piano

Tr. 9 Béla Bartók: 6 Romanian Folk Dances Sz 56 for Piano

Tr. 10 John Lewis: Django

Tr. 11 Bill Evans: Remembering the Rain

Tr. 12 John Coltrane: Autumn Serenade

Tr. 13 Bill Evans: Laurie

• Jazz standards performed by one of today’s most promising young cellists

• Valentin Radutiu explores the true potential of the Jazz Cello

• A true musical treat for both for admirers of an extraordinary cello sound and small group jazz

Only a few, famous jazz bassists have ever gone beyond the limitations of their instruments and sought new opportunities on the cello. Now, the cellist Valentin Radutiu has turned the tables and shows how well the cello suits jazz – at times taking the role of the traditional string bass, at others, a resonant tenor guitar while at others, he gives its voice wings. The tendency to experiment with musical material is deep within this cellist; he is constantly exploring new sounds to expand the expressive range of his instrument. The repertoire of this extraordinary album comes mainly from the 'Great American Songbook', supplementing that glorious heritage with standards by Cool Jazz purveyor John Lewis and master improviser Bill Evans, both of whom had their own anchors in classical music as well.

Aiding and abetting this project, this 'exceptional cellist' (as the 'Süddeutsche Zeitung' described Valentin Radutiu), are two seasoned jazzmen, who in their own right, are among the most renowned cross-over artists in their field, and bring just the right mixture of risk and reserve. This team exhibits a lot of mutual respect and along with adding dash of wit and a light touch, the fusion works and the center holds! 'Remembering the Rain' is not about creating a revolution or tearing down imaginary walls. Rather, it moves at a deliberate pace, allows the cello to step out of its classical provenance and stretch nits “legs.” Because this music is not about confrontation, rather 'Remembering the Rain' is an exciting opportunity for Valentin Radutius to take his immense skills is a new and different direction , and playfully engage with the music he loves and broaden his audiences’ emotional and aesthetic perspective in the process.

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