
B’shnorkestra photo by Daniel Sheehan
B’shnorkestra
Global Concertos
Self-released
Trumpeter/composer Samantha Boshnack has produced an all-world music feast with her chamber orchestra B’shnorkestra, a 14-piece collective, formed in 2011, merging cross-cultural musicians from Seattle’s many music communities. For B’shnorkestra’s second new album Global Concertos, Boshnack spans out to five continents, composing five new concertos for five distinct soloists.
Under the direction of conductor Joshua Kohl, the project opens with a freedom song inviting the Hindustani vocals of Srivani Jade. Lyrically based on a visionary poem of a united world and spiritual unity, the musical landscape of “Prarthona” evolves to include modal transitions and melodic lines passed between instrumental voices.
“Concerto for Julio,” written for Latin jazz piano master Julio Jáuregui, delves into ethereal harmonies and accelerando samba. Backed by wailing strings, Jauregui plays a transcendent solo before theme material develops into a spacey conclusion.
The third piece showcases the tradition of Greek clarinet, bringing the talents of Christos Govetas front and center of Boshnack’s brilliant blues-inspired composition. “Concerto for Christos” weaves around an entrancing drone of bass and cello, pizzicato texture, and open horn harmonies, before Govetas leads the band into an illustrious and contemplative celebration.
The rhythmic intensity of the album peaks with “Concerto for Talking Drum,” featuring West African talking drum by Thione Diop, descendant from an ancestral line of Griot drummers from Senegal. Here, Boshnack leads strong trumpet and saxophone lines inspired by African jazz. Diop’s expressive soloing and sheer virtuosity fuel the high-energy piece.
Concluding the album is Boshnack’s stellar jazz trumpet concerto featuring the prolific Thomas Marriott. Timeless harmonies abound, and atop them Marriott sends chills with upper register lines and expressive phrasing all his own.
A sense of boundless – and borderless – creative improvisation infuses Boshnack’s cinematic compositions; her musical feat cannot be overlooked or overplayed.
–Halynn Blanchard