Album guide
First Impressions
- Released
- 2015
- Label
- HighNote Records
- Forces
- Trumpet, Saxophone
- Personnel
- Tom Harrell trumpet and flugelhorn, with an eight-piece ensemble of saxophone, flute, piano, guitar, bass, drums, violin and cello
Harrell’s fascination with Debussy and Ravel reaches back to his arranging teacher Russell Garcia, who first pointed out their connections with jazz.
On First Impressions, those links extend beyond harmony: the music slips through bossa nova, baião, tango, flamenco and even a hip-hop pulse beneath Harrell’s solo on Ravel’s “Sainte”.
Hear both
The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.
The listening queues above follow the same order. The classical player omits tracks that are not based on a classical original.
Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.
Source works
The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.
- SainteMaurice Ravel: song “Sainte”, M. 9
- Voices (Vocalise-Étude En Forme de Habanera)Ravel: Vocalise-étude en forme de habanera, M. 51
- PerspectivesTom Harrell original; no classical source
- Beau SoirClaude Debussy: song “Beau soir”, L. 6
- ReverieDebussy: Rêverie, L. 68
- PassepiedDebussy: Suite bergamasque, fourth movement
- SarabandeDebussy: Pour le piano, second movement
- Musique Du CaféHarrell original; no classical source