En Plein Air, a French expression meaning “in open
air,” is the third album from The Jazz Professors. It is a themed
recording conceived as a complete project. The charge for Per Danielsson
and Richard Drexler was to compose music inspired by the art of Claude
Monet, and, along with director Jeff Rupert's composition, these songs
debuted live at the
UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival. Mike Mossman was a guest on the bill and was excited to join the endeavor.
Rupert selected specific paintings for each composer, art that
would evoke different moods, though complementary to each other, as if
the works were exhibited together in a gallery.
The French Impressionists captured light at a moment in time.
Perhaps the jazz soloist is the American equivalent, playing what he
or she hears in the moment.
Flying Horse
