The Oranj Symphonette is an experimental jazz-rock quintet from
San Francisco, USA, formed from members of
Tom Waits' band. They have released two albums.
[http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=3030 All About Jazz, Oranj Symphonette, By ED KOPP Published: November 1, 1998, Ed Kopp, Retrieved February 8, 2011.]
Formation
The band was formed by musicians who played for Tom Waits. They recorded two albums, the first cover versions of
Henry Mancini.
Led by cellist/bassist Matt Brubeck (son of
Dave Brubeck
David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
), the group includes Joe Gore and multi-instrumentalist
Ralph Carney. Individually these three have played with
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.
Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...
, the
B-52's,
Marc Ribot, and others. They met while recording Waits' score for the
Jim Jarmusch
James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' ( ...
film ''Night On Earth''. In 1993, they began on their Mancini cover album. Joined by
Scott Amendola, they debuted at San Francisco's Radio Valencia in 1994. In 1996, they added Hammond organ/accordion player Rob Burger and Pat Campbell replaced Amendola on drums for an album of music by composers including Mancini,
Quincy Jones,
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...
,
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
,
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...
,
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...
,
Jimmy Webb, and
John Barry.
Debut album
Their Gramavision/Rykodisc debut, ''Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini'', reinterprets the work of one of Hollywood's most memorable composers,
Henry Mancini.
Discography
* ''Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini'' (1996)
* ''The Oranj Album'' (1998)
[
]
References
American jazz ensembles from California
Gramavision Records artists
{{US-jazz-band-stub