Vienna Art Orchestra

Mathias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra had always been an eclectic bunch, working in the odd jazz or classical cover into its repertoire with some regularity, but for this release, the ensemble went whole hog, leaping into the oeuvre of that grandfather of minimalism, Erik Satie. Originally issued as a two-LP set, every track (save one evocative Gil Evans-y piece by Rüegg) is a Satie composition rearranged, often brilliantly, and generally highlighting two or three individual VAO members. This reductionist technique serves the band well, as it has often had a tendency toward weighty ponderousness. Here, the arrangements are light and linear, affording a supple but transparent platform for the soloists, who are clearly encouraged to venture out into jazzy territory.

From Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin to Mahler and Bartok, European classical music has been a source of inspiration to numerous jazz musicians. The 19th Century compositions of the Strauss family are the subject of All That Strauss, which documents a New Year's 2000 concert by the Vienna Art Orchestra–one of Europe's most adventurous big bands. It is quite appropriate that this Strauss tribute concert was performed in Vienna and that the orchestra has Vienna in its name; for many classical greats have lived in Austria's largest city, including Johann and Eduard Strauss. While the Vienna Art Orchestra's love of the Strauss legacy is obvious, the band doesn't treat its compositions like museum pieces. Instead, time-honored compositions like "Donauwalzer," "Albion Polka," "Ein Morgen, ein Mittag, ein Abend in Wien" and "Lagunen Walzer" are given serious jazz makeovers, and arranger Mathias Rüegg sees to it that the orchestra takes a lot of chances with the material.

Recorded live at the Zurich Jazz Festival in 1980, this was America's first taste of the wild abandon that is the Vienna Art Orchestra and expatriate Lauren Newton's glorious vocal instrument. This is a 13-piece big band led by the beautifully weird compositional, instructional, and arranging craziness of Mathias Rüegg. They trash and revere all traditions – both historical and avant-garde at the same time – while using them both along with carnival and circus music, classical forms and fugues, and French salon music. They swing here like a Mingus big band playing "Jelly Roll, But Mingus Rolls Better," with soloists who could care less what the ensemble chart says and vice versa. Newton, mixed high above the prattle, soars with the intensity of a pianist while blowing Jon Hendricks away at his own game. The fun really begins when the ensemble changes tempos two or three times and sections play against each other as in "Concerto Piccolo," even if begun by the lilting line of the title's instrument.

Vienna Art Orchestra - Art & Fun (2002) {2CD EmArcy-Universal Music Austria 017072-2}
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© 2002 EmArcy / Universal Music Austria | 017072-2
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

Mathias Ruegg dirige un orchestre à la longévité étonnante : 25 ans. Le « Vienna Art » a vu défiler tous les solistes européens de ces deux dernières décennies. Cette aventure est le fruit d’un long travail collectif, privilégiant les rencontres et les découvertes. Les différents programmes de l’orchestre sont autant de façons d’honorer la grande histoire du jazz. Une fois encore, le Vienna Art prend un « risque artistique » et propose, avec ce double album, une vision gémellaire et ludique de ce glorieux passé. Pas moins de 80 compositions, thèmes et arrangements sont proposés dans un ordre dispersé.

Vienna Art Orchestra - The Big Band Years 1993-2007 (2010) {4CD Box Set EmArcy-Universal 0602527539966}
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© 1993-2007, 2010 EmArcy / Universal | 0602527539966}
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

The Vienna Art Orchestra is a 15-member jazz orchestra that features the avant-garde arrangements and compositions of its leader, pianist Mathias Ruegg. This is a reissue of their 1980 debut, an important document in the post-modern jazz movement. The opening, title track is a joyous, folkish tango that's been cartoonishly toyed with, featuring three solo sections. The marimba section is also ornamented with vocalese from Lauren Newton, followed by an extremely playful horn lead that sounds like a toy instrument. The solo offering from violinist Rudi Berger has an electronically effected fusion sound. A tight, alto sax solo by Wolfgang Puschnig ties everything together neatly with a lengthy, unaccompanied performance.

Vienna Art Orchestra - 3 Trilogy: 30th Anniversary Box (2007) {3CD Box Set EmArcy 0602517228795}
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© 2007 EmArcy / Universal Music | 0602517228795
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

The Vienna Art Orchestra is a 15-member jazz orchestra that features the avant-garde arrangements and compositions of its leader, pianist Mathias Ruegg. This is a reissue of their 1980 debut, an important document in the post-modern jazz movement. The opening, title track is a joyous, folkish tango that's been cartoonishly toyed with, featuring three solo sections. The marimba section is also ornamented with vocalese from Lauren Newton, followed by an extremely playful horn lead that sounds like a toy instrument. The solo offering from violinist Rudi Berger has an electronically effected fusion sound. A tight, alto sax solo by Wolfgang Puschnig ties everything together neatly with a lengthy, unaccompanied performance.

Vienna Art Orchestra - A Centenary Journey (2001) {QUINTON 0104-2}
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© 2001 QUINTON | 0104-2
Jazz / Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz

One has to hand it to the Vienna Art Orchestra; this is one adventurous band of Austrians. On Centenary Journey, recorded live in March ’01 at the Sofiensäle, Vienna, the VAO makes an heroic (and broadly successful) effort to compress a century of ever–shifting Jazz styles into one expansive snapshot. Unlike Ken Burns’ recent (and controversial) television series, Jazz, which was weighted heavily in favor of the music’s early pioneers with the last forty years or so telescoped into one hour–long (or ninety–minute) episode, The VAO’s enterprise leans rather conspicuously in the opposite direction, being evenly divided between Jazz as it developed from 1900 through the ’50s (the first seven selections) and in the years from 1960 to the present (the last seven).

Vienna Art Orchestra - Duke Ellington's Sound of Love (1999) {TCB 99802}
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© 1999 TCB Records | TCB 99802
Jazz / Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Avant-Garde Jazz

One might think this disc would focus on the more romantic side of the Ellington-Strayhorn catalog. But don't let the title fool you. Mathias Ruegg's large band gives tunes like "Red Garter" and "Smada" a playful, blasting treatment. Particularly noteworthy is the transformation of "Mood Indigo" into something of a drunkard's lament, with a deep, wobbling trombone line. It's a labor of love that some Ellington purists might find a bit appalling, but it deserves kudos for its new approach.

Vienna Art Orchestra - Duke Ellington's Sound of Love, Vol. 2 (2003) {EmArcy 0602498654194}
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© 2003 EmArcy / Universal | 0602498654194
Jazz / Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz

In the jazz world, Vienna is about as far from New York's Lincoln Center as you can get. It follows that Mathias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra has about as much in common with Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center big band as a Sacher torte has with a Hostess Cup Cake; while they share some ingredients, the Austrian product satisfies on a more profound level. By the turn of the century, the Lincoln Center paradigm defined the jazz big band as a finished concept – locked into the past, serving mostly as a repertory ensemble. The VAO, on the other hand, while hardly ignoring traditional jazz verities, lives in the present and looks to the future.

Vienna Art Orchestra - Blues For Brahms (1989) {2CD Set Amadeo 839 105-2}
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© 1989 Amadeo / PolyGram | 839 105-2
Jazz / Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz

In the jazz world, Vienna is about as far from New York's Lincoln Center as you can get. It follows that Mathias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra has about as much in common with Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center big band as a Sacher torte has with a Hostess Cup Cake; while they share some ingredients, the Austrian product satisfies on a more profound level. By the turn of the century, the Lincoln Center paradigm defined the jazz big band as a finished concept – locked into the past, serving mostly as a repertory ensemble.