It's hard to get an idea of what this piece is about from the graphics and publicity summaries. The double Z replacing the S at the end of Aeneas' name might suggest a hip-hop influence. Even to say it's a jazz version of Dido and Aeneas doesn't quite convey the flavor of what's happening. Certainly, the album partakes of the basic equation of the jazz bass and the Baroque basso continuo that has animated the work of artists going back to the
Modern Jazz Quartet, but it doesn't stop there. The music is, on one hand, pushed back in the direction of the classical wind quintet, a role here filled by the quintet
Calefax. A piece may have sections with no rhythmic accompaniment. On the other hand, the music may go beyond jazz, as in "The Sailors" (sample this track), with its Caribbean feel, and elsewhere there are hints of klezmer and more. Harmonically and melodically, the music ranges from very close to Purcell to almost entirely diverging from him, but Purcell is always there. The fact of the wind quintet itself poses challenges for alto saxophonist and "recomposer"
Raaf Hekkema, for it does not exactly match the basic texture of Purcell's arias. This challenge is inventively solved by the addition of original pieces by trumpeter
Eric Vloeimans, which tend more toward the melodic; in the big "Dido's lament" the trumpet also comes to the fore. So, rather than being simply a jazz version of Dido and Aeneas, Dido & Aeneazz interprets that work, using jazz, the classical wind quintet, and more. The piece feels, in the best way, like a work in progress, and as such, it is the kind of thing that may well inspire future experimentation. ~ James Manheim