More Jazz Meets the Symphony

by Richard S. GinellBreaking the long-standing curse of sequels, the second installment of Schifrin's Jazz Meets the Symphony series is even better than the first. For one thing, Schifrin was able to place his own distinctive orchestral stamp more firmly upon these arrangements, sometimes reaching into his bag of tricks familiar to us from his film cues. For another, he has three expert, often fiery solo horns on tap here -- Jon Faddis, James Morrison and Paquito D'Rivera -- to go along with Ray Brown and Grady Tate, and Schifrin remains a superb jazz pianist despite his infrequent current public appearances in that role. The repertoire remains a mixture of standards, medleys for the departed and Schifrin originals; his attempts to create a genuine fusion of a jazz combo and the London Philharmonic come closer and closer to the goal. Without leaving the Schifrin orchestral idiom for a minute, "Sketches of Miles" perfectly captures the brooding Miles Davis aura in a medley of some of his most winning records of the 1950s; "Begin the Beguine" is a combination of Hollywood flash and genuine jazz intrigue. Obviously Schifrin is into this concept for the long haul, refining and sharpening his fusion of two worlds.