Eastman Showcase 2007
Songs Sung Blue
When your music is compared to the work of Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, and Aaron Copland — not to mention Ernest Hemingway — you’re probably doing something right. Judging from critical response to her newest album, Sky Blue, Grammy-winning jazz composer Maria Schneider (MM ’85) definitely did it right.
Four of the pieces on Sky Blue were commissioned by different venues, but all were to be premiered by the Maria Schneider Orchestra — “my favorite way to be commissioned,” she says. “Each of these pieces began when I cast out a few exploratory tones in search of meaningful sound … Experiences transmuted into sound, and in two cases, actually became sonic stories” (which may help explain that Hemingway reference).
Sky Blue was released July 24 and is available only at MariaSchneider.com, along with Maria’s previous albums and lots of other interesting information about her music and current projects. She’ll be all over the world in the next few weeks, performing in Bethlehem (PA), Italy, Tanglewood, and Brazil. In coming months, Maria will give residencies at the University of Miami and at Juilliard.