Search - Terry Plumeri :: Water Garden

Remarkable Achievement

TW | WV, USA | 06/21/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been deeply moved by Terry Plumeri's majestic compositions performed by the Moscow Philharmonic (PLUMERI CONDUCTS PLUMERI, TCHAIKOVSKY/PLUMERI). When he conducts the Moscow Philharmonic performing Tchaikovsky (TCHAIKOVSKY, SYMPHONIES 4,5 & 6, TCHAIKOVSKY/PLUMERI), I am in awe. I have marveled at his uncanny talent for turning mediocre movies into first rate films because of his magnificent scoring, i.e., ONE FALSE MOVE, STEPHEN KING'S SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK. I've been thrillingly horrified by his film music, i.e., FINAL JUDGEMENT, THE TERROR WITHIN 2. Meditating with ROMANCE FOR CLARINET, STRINGS AND HARP always inspires and heals. But my favorite side of the maestro, initially captured in the seminal HE WHO LIVES IN MANY PLACES and in BLUE IN GREEN, is perhaps most luminously reflected in WATER GARDEN.



WATER GARDEN is pure jazz. It was originally released in the mid-seventies when his playing and writing helped define the pop sound of Roberta Flack and shone brightly in recordings with Herbie Hancock and John Abercrombie. Here, accompanied by Abercrombie, Marc Copeland, Michael Smith and The National Symphony String Quartet, he invites the listener on a transcendent journey, flying on the breath of lost angels through the twisted pathways of some haunted paradisiacal dream. The CD opens with "Bornless One," as the voice of the Void reaches out, ensnaring and pulling you forward into the classic "Ongoing," one of the most brilliantly bizarre and memorable jazz creations of all time, featuring Plumeri's unique and legendary bowing skills on acoustic bass. The rapidly punctuated turmoil of "Gypsy" then contrasts with an enchanting pause in the magically glistening "Water Garden." "Laura Rose" begins concerned, and innocence proceeds, impervious to dangers lurking around every corner. Finally, in "Two Poems for Dance," "Rush Hour" seems to reflect the joys and anxieties of preparation and "Dusk," the lulling of the wearied soul to rest.



Terry Plumeri's work can be fantastic and spooky, then gentle and kind; dark and precise, then spiritual and free. His bass playing is a series of alien encounters. One of the most prolific composers in Hollywood, you know a Terry Plumeri film when you hear one. His work with the Moscow Philharmonic--incomparable. This courageous artist has stood the test of time and never fails to inspire and intrigue. His work continually delivers us to something deep and strange and sublime within ourselves."