In his work with the Wayne Shorter Quartet and with his own trio, Grammy-winning pianist
Danilo Perez has been acclaimed for his Pan-American originality and musical fearlessness. On his new orchestral CD
Across the Crystal Sea, which was arranged and conducted by
Claus Ogerman, Perez draws deeply on his lyrical gifts. Produced by
Tommy LiPuma, with renowned engineer
Al Schmitt at the controls, the new CD will be released by Emarcy/Universal on August 26.
The Panamanian-born pianist found
Across the Crystal Sea to be the biggest challenge of his career -- and one of its highlights. "It was a big test for me," says Perez. "My experience with Wayne has taught me to go to unknown places. But when it came to working with Claus, it was another kind of adventure. . . . As the musical director, he provided me with both a story and a landscape, and then told me, 'I want you to paint.'"
Across the Crystal Sea features Perez in a trio with bassist
Christian McBride and drummer
Lewis Nash, augmented by percussionist
Luis Quintero. Vocalist
Cassandra Wilson performs on "Lazy Afternoon" and "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings," the album's sole standards.
The remaining six tracks are Ogerman's, which he says are "based on classical themes I've known all my life and have always wanted to adapt and record." In addition to his original composition "Another Autumn," Ogerman drew on themes by Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Massenet, Manuel de Falla, and choral composer Hugo Distler.
Producer Tommy LiPuma knew and loved Claus Ogerman's work with
Antonio Carlos Jobim, beginning in the 1960s, and especially his "outrageously great" 1965
Bill Evans Trio album,
With Symphony Orchestra, "where Claus took classical themes and used them as vehicles for Bill to play on."
When LiPuma and Ogerman met in 1966, "we found a kinship with each other that started a 42-year friendship." They later collaborated on nearly a dozen projects, beginning in 1976 with the triple-platinum
Breezin' and two other
George Benson recordings;
Joao Gilberto's 1977 classic
Amoroso; three Ogerman solo discs, including
Cityscape with
Michael Brecker;
Sleeping Gypsy by
Michael Franks (1977);
Dr. John's
City Lights (1978); and
Diana Krall's 2001 album,
The Look of Love.
In 2001 LiPuma, who'd already produced four CDs with Perez, approached the pianist about doing an orchestral album and at the same time sent Perez's recordings to Ogerman. "It took a few years, but Claus called me, told me how fantastic Danilo was and that he was starting to put some material together," says LiPuma. "We decided on the same formula as the Bill Evans album."
The ravishing results may be heard in
Across the Crystal Sea, a tour de force for Danilo Perez and, for his producer, "one of my personal favorites" from his own distinguished discography.