THE VIVALDI - JAZZ BASSOON CONCERTO PROJECT

I have always had a longing desire to do my version of Vivaldi's Bassoon Concertos in Jazz. I always thought they could sound good on the bassoon, but without doing it in a "cheesy" way,

A SHORT HISTORY

I don't know exactly when that idea popped into my mind. The only thing I remember is when I was in Berlin taking classes with Klaus Thunemann, in 1999, in a Vivaldi class, at the "Fagott Raum", in the Hanns Eisler Musik Hochschule, he showed me the harmonies on the piano from a Vivaldi concerto, and there were a lot of II - V progressions, which are very common in jazz.

Thunemann told me: "a lot of people think that jazz came out in the 19th century, but it's much older. See, Vivaldi already used many jazz harmonies!"

In that class, he started playing a blues on the piano. I was shy, but I started to improvise on the bassoon. Klaus was surprised. He looked at me and gave his typical laugh: Ho Ho Ho (Like Santa Klaus 🎅🏻 😂)

This class opened my mind.

THE PROJECT VIVALDI - JAZZ BASSOON CONCERTO

Last year I finally started working on the idea of a jazz version of a Vivaldi concerto. I decided to start with my favorite, the concerto in E minor RV 484. I arranged it for a classical jazz quartet.

At my studio working on the arrangement, using my computer, scores and my keyboard

Initially, I was thinking of arranging the 3rd movement in "Jazz Waltz", but I thought it was too obvious. I could be more creative. So, we did it with a Spanish "Flamenco" groove:

In July 2022 we premiered this arrangement in a live performance, in Campos do Jordão. (It was so cold, around 10 degrees on the stage. Brazilian Winter is cold too!). I would like to share with you a video of the 3rd movement.

p.s: The video image isn't great, but it's enough for you to have an idea of ​​this project.

👉🏻 To watch it, click on the video below:

UPCOMING CD

I'm planning to record the complete Vivaldi's E- minor concert in a studio this year, for my next CD. I will share with you more news about it soon. So, stay tuned.

I hope you enjoy this project! Best regards,

Alexandre