Maria Schneider – ‘Data Lords’ UK premiere

This concert was above all a reminder of what a very great, relevant and many-faceted composer Maria Schneider is.

“Data Lords”, NPR’s jazz album of 2020, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize (*) in 2021, is a big and ambitious work. As Schneider herself explained last night, she has been finding for more than a decade that – alongside the poetry… and the nature… and the silence… that have always inspired her to write music, ever since her early days as assistant to Gil Evans – she has increasingly found herself preoccupied by a rising tide of anger at the way in which big tech has committed massive theft from musicians, from people and society as a whole, and has felt an increasing imperative to capture those understandably strong feelings and convictions in music as well.

So, the “Data Lords” album presents music such as “Bluebird”, “Look Up” which convey wonder and joy, and “Braided Together” which is about love. But these are balanced by a new kind of Schneider music which carries a dystopian vision of where the world is headed, in pieces such as “Sputnik” and “Don’t Be Evil”. It is a fascinating musical world. “Don’t Be Evil” felt particularly powerful now, maybe even prophetic with its snarling, Hanns Eisler-like marches reflecting a world rapidly re-arming.

There is one piece – and Schneider told the story of how it had taken here three attempts, from scratch each time to find the right form of musical expression – which combines warm nostalgia with foreboding and that is “CQ CQ, Is Anybody There?”. According to the official blurb, it “tries to capture the mystery of ham radio, a precursor in some ways to the internet.” The absolute hero of this piece was the Oslo ensemble’s Swedish bass trombonist Ingrid Utne, who was nailing every dark, low, prodding note. That was something really special.

Musical standards from the musicians of the Oslo Jazz Ensemble were very high. They performed the pieces with real conviction, and we in the audience also had the benefit of the fact that the band had been able to bring its own sound engineer on tour. This group of players has previously toured this repertoire with the composer in summer 2023; that kind of familiarity clearly brings dividends.

As I wrote in an album review in 2021, a lot of the menace in the scoring comes from the lower brass, and the Oslo players were superb. I also was taken by trombonist Magnus Murphy Joelson‘s wonderfully lyrical voice as soloist, and great sound.

Perhaps, in days gone by, we might have hoped that Maria Schneider’s own orchestra of New York’s finest might do a European tour and drop off for a London date, but there’s probably no point in waiting for that to happen any time soon. What is important is that this deeply evocative and swirlingly alive music can be be heard, being played by musicians who know it well.

SET LIST

Bluebird
Don’t Be Evil
Sputnik
Look Up
CQ CQ, Is Anybody There?
The Sun Waited for Me
Data Lords 
Encore: Braided Together

OSLO JAZZ ENSEMBLE

Maria Schneider Musical Director
Børge-Are Halvorsen Alto Saxophone, Flutes
Joakim Bergsrønning Alto Saxophone, Flutes and Clarinet
Atle Nymo and Martin Myhre Olsen Tenor Saxophone
Tina Laegreid Olsen Baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Frank Brodahl, Marius Haltli, Richard Köster and Anders Eriksson Trumpet and Flugelhorn
Even Skatrud, Nils Andreas Granseth and Magnus Murphy Joelson Trombone
Ingrid Utne Bass Trombone
Jørn Oien Piano
Kalle Moberg Accordion
Jens Thoresen Guitar
Trygve Waldemar Fiske Bass
Håkon Mjåset Johansen Drums
Thor-Ivar Lund Sound engineer