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Blues For A Billion Stars

by Ambient Jazz Ensemble

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about

Inspired by the classic blue-note sound of Horace Silver, Art Blakey & Coltrane. In my teenage years, learning double bass, those iconic mid tempo tunes were perfect for getting to grips with jazz chord changes. I’m still drawn to the ‘heads’ of the those tunes on tenor sax & trumpet, initially in unison before peeling off into harmony, & this was something I started to explore in an AJE writing session. The premise for BFABS was what would happen if, say, Charles Stepney (Rotary Connection, Terry Callier, EW&F) was to arrange & produce Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man.

The original chords were pretty close to a classic blues progression but morphed into basically one chord with a turnaround at the end, it felt very jazzy for an AJE piece due to it’s swung groove & horns. In searching for more atmospheric ideas the outro took shape, a stark contrast to the Blue-Note vibe & an interesting twist, creating almost 2 tracks in 1. This gave rise to the title, a juxtaposition of something as raw & rootsy as the blues, with the biggest beautiful other-worldly & cinematic expanse of the solar system. The title then further influenced the direction of the track demanding a bigger & more expansive sound, utilising strings over the sax/trumpet section & an epic end section.

The Epic Mix is slower in tempo & features the full AJE instrumental palette of live sessions. The atmospheric intro is allowed to build & features a Middle Eastern duduk which is doubled by pedal steel. The main version, meanwhile, grabs parts of live performances & rebuilds them with a combination of live loops & drum programming.

credits

released November 1, 2021

Colin Baldry: Keys, Pedal Steel, Gtr, Programming
Sam Baldry: Drums
Kit Downes: Piano
Chris Hill: Double Bass
Ollie Weston: Tenor Sax
Tom Allan: Trumpet
Gary Hammond: Percussion (long version)
Ben Reynolds: Drums (long version)
The Adderbury Ensemble: Strings

Mixed and mastered by George Shilling

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about

Ambient Jazz Ensemble London, UK

AJE is all about storytelling, a cinematic journey. Tracks begin from a simple idea, a texture, an ambient soundscape that has room to grow, often blossoming into euphoric suites. At the heart of every track is a jazz ensemble, but the music owes much to electronica or orchestral influences, jazz is merely the palette of sounds & collaborative musicianship that carve the AJE musical landscape. ... more

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