The Distance represents a grand creative leap for bassist-composer
Michael Formanek, following two widely lauded ECM releases featuring his
quartet with Tim Berne, Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver. The new album
showcases his texturally rich compositions for the dynamic 18-piece big
band he has playfully dubbed Ensemble Kolossus. The project saw some of
the most distinctive musicians on the New York scene bonding to realize
Formaneks epic design, as he re-imagined what a big-band can be.
Channeling sounds from the classic to the modern, he also composed for
individual soloists in the Ellingtonian tradition. Along with the dusky
romanticism of the title track, The Distance features the Exoskeleton
suite a kaleidoscopic musical experience in which Formaneks bold,
beautiful vision for 21st-century large-ensemble jazz comes vibrantly to
life.
