Jazz
French hornist and composer Tom Varner's ever-distinctive perspective
on the American songbook with personally chosen American songs from 1770
through 1998, performed by a hand-picked group New York's best downtown
jazz improvisers. From classics and lesser-known tunes from the
Revolutionary War, Civil War, church hymnals, New Orleans second lines
and the original pens of diverse American composers ranging from George
Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Hank Williams, George Jones, Tammy Wynette
and Bruce Springsteen, The Window Up Above gives a delightfully
surprising and rewarding panorama of the rich heritage of melodies from
the New World.
I
wanted to do something different for this record. Instead of
playing my own compositions, I wanted to simply explore a variety of
songs that have an inner resonance, whether from family, religion,
nation or culture.
-Tom Varner