Magic … is one of the most overused terms for describing music. You seldom hear something that is really magical. On the other hand, the American bandleader Ray Anderson is a magician if there ever was one. His magic wand is the trombone. He masterly breaks down the boundaries between magic and reality, spirit and the physical, tradition and utopia.
Highly respected drummer and prolific composer Bobby Previte continues his Terminals trilogy with Rhapsody, a song cycle on the subject of transit and migration. Subtitled In Transit: Terminals II, Previte's newest work was scored for acoustic sextet and features fellow composerimprovisers in guitarist Nels Cline, harpist Zeena Parkins, pianist John Medeski, vocalist, alto saxophonist Fabian Rucker and vocalist-erhu player Jen Shyu. This latest major work, released on RareNoise Records in February 2018, comes on the heels of Previte's powerful prior RareNoise release, Mass, a nine-part work scored for choir, pip organ and heavy metal trio. Rhapsody was commissioned by the Greenfield Prize at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Florida and had it's world premiere on April 21, 2017 at New College in Sarasota.
