Don't Let Go: Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Commission for Balancing Act

Balancing Act: Dick Oatts, Jason Rigby, Mike Holober, Mike McGuirk, Jamile, Mark Patterson, Marvin Stamm, Dennis Mackrel. Photo credit: Perry Hall

“Let the music uplift you, and embrace optimism at any cost.” - Ed Enright

— Downbeat Magazine (4.5 stars)

DON'T LET GO: Mike Holober & Balancing Act

Mike Holober

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“Don’t Let Go” is a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission (funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation) for jazz octet with voice. Structured as a song-cycle in the tradition of Robert Schumann, Samuel Read more
“Don’t Let Go” is a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission (funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation) for jazz octet with voice. Structured as a song-cycle in the tradition of Robert Schumann, Samuel Barber, and Ralph Vaughn-Williams, this concert-length project explores the nuances and complexities of the concept of “hope” in the context of current social, political, and environmental realities.

"Let the music uplift you, and embrace optimism at any cost."
Ed Enright, Downbeat Magazine, April 2022 (4.5 stars)
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  1. 1
    Breathe Deep 1:55
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  2. 2
    Morning Hope 9:34
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  3. 3
    Four-Letter Words 9:10
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  4. 4
    Kiss The Ground 5:32
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  5. 5
    Burnin' Daylight 7:10
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  6. 6
    A Summer Midnight's Dream 4:55
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  7. 7
    Necessary 6:54
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  8. 8
    I Wonder 6:28
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  9. 9
    You're a Long Way from Home 5:52
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  10. 10
    You Never Know 5:59
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  11. 11
    Smile Slow 2:36
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  12. 12
    Letting Go 8:11
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  13. 13
    Touch the Sky 9:02
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  14. 14
    Don't Let Go 4:38
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Don’t Let Go was premiered by Mike Holober & Balancing Act at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space in New York City, and at the Union Arts Center in Sparkill New York in June 2018.  A live recording at Aaron Davis Hall, City College Center for the Arts was released in April 2022 (Sunnyside Records).

Live recording at Aaron Davis Hall City Center for the Arts, October 4, 2019 (photos by Perry Hall)

    

Don't Let Go was premiered in June 2018 at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City, and the Union Art Center in Sparkill New York.  For the premiere performances vocalist Jo Lawry (best known for her work with Sting) and drummer Gerald Cleaver replaced Kate McGarry and Brian Blade who were not available for the date.

Pictures from the Thalia concert (Jo Lawry and Gerald Cleaver subbing for Kate McGarry and Brian Blade)

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