Heartland Radio - remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows

On Heartland Radio, the four-time Grammy-nominated composer and saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf finds inspiration in the ever-shifting soundscape of the great American road trip. Through seven tracks of stunning ingenuity and intimacy, Le Boeuf’s large ensemble Assembly of Shadows melds modern jazz language and classical textures with ideas and emotions gleaned from pop radio. Echoes of indie rock, R&B, dance-pop, alternative, and EDM infuse breathtaking orchestral harmony, nimble ensemble interplay and masterful solos — including those by the bandleader, whose crystalline alto work exhibits a depth of understanding that only the music’s composer could attain. 

In the process, Le Boeuf bridges the gaps between geographic and artistic communities — jazz and classical and contemporary music, high culture and pop culture — much as he’s done throughout his career. From co-leading the acclaimed Le Boeuf Brothers with his identical twin, to gigging with pop-rock band HAIM and collaborating with producer Prefuse 73, he’s the sort of wide-open musician whose only criterion is quality –– “I’m bringing together everything I love and making it my own.” 

The catalyst for Le Boeuf’s cross-country journey was his appointment as the Director of Jazz & Commercial Music Studies at the University of Denver. Le Boeuf and his partner set off from Brooklyn in a 16-foot Penske truck, “and all we did was listen to the radio with the windows down. When you’re driving across the U.S., there aren’t many jazz stations; it’s just whatever comes up. All the songs on the album reflect this transition in my life, and draw on the music we heard along the way.” Heartland Radio, he says, “is about having fun. It’s about wanting to dance and sing along.”  All of Le Boeuf’s work communicates sensitivity, intelligence, and empathy — from the way his soloists so often shine in tandem, to the textural use of volume. “I like to connect with people,” he says. “And I like to explore that in music. My music is very personal. We write the lives that we live.”

Architecture of storms - remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows

Lauded by The Brooklyn Rail for its “cinematic majesty,” the Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows orchestra returns on Architecture of Storms, adding another riveting chapter to Le Boeuf’s innovative vision as a jazz orchestra composer. The ensemble performs with gripping virtuosity on a richly varied program of original pieces as well as Le Boeuf’s arrangement of “Minnesota, WI,” by indie-folk pioneer Justin Vernon (Bon Iver).

From the start, Architecture of Storms finds Le Boeuf stepping forward more frequently as a saxophone soloist. Architecture of Storms also brings a wider array of influences into view, from big-band jazz to indie rock and singer-songwriting. Whether performing with American pop/rock band HAIM, or writing for Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Le Boeuf has shaped a sonic identity that flourishes in a wide range of musical environments, giving his music a unique beauty. The title Architecture of Storms refers to the album's centerpiece, “The Melancholy Architecture of Storms,” featuring the lyrics of poet Sara Pirkle, sung by guest vocalist Julia Easterlin.

Summoning inspired textures, tone colors, harmonic vistas and rhythms throughout Architecture of Storms, Le Boeuf boldly advances on his journey in 21st-century jazz orchestra composition. But too, his nimble and expressive alto saxophone work — what veteran journalist Ted Panken has called a “distinctive dark-hued instrumental voice [that] emerges with clarity and focused intention” — makes Architecture of Storms a breakthrough on another level. It’s the sound of an artist shoring up one of his firmest convictions: “jazz has no limits.”

remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows

Following his May 2019 leader debut, Light as a Word—hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle for its “radiant, uncluttered beauty”—saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf takes a major leap forward in his artistic journey with his jazz orchestra release, Assembly of Shadows. Before embarking on the title work, a cinematic five-movement suite that also serves as the ensemble's namesake, the album begins with the standalone composition “Strata” and a kaleidoscopic reimagining of Ornette Coleman’s “Honeymooners.”

The players that populate Assembly of Shadows are among New York City’s finest, including Anna Webber (flute), Philip Dizack (trumpet), Alex Goodman (guitar) and of course Le Boeuf himself on alto/soprano saxophones and woodwinds. “I considered the unique voices of the soloists in the band and how I could highlight them to tell the story behind the music,” says Le Boeuf. And what a story. The suite follows the experience of “a child who runs away into a nearby forest, gets lost, and falls asleep,” Le Boeuf explains. “When she wakes, the shadows of the trees come alive and dance with her. Some are kind, some are scary, but they all teach her something about herself. They guide her home as the moon sets and she wakes up in her own bed, wondering if her adventure happened in reality or if it was a dream.”

Le Boeuf cites his love for jazz composers such as Maria Schneider and Charles Mingus, but also many 20th-century classical influences that trace back to his childhood, such as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Benjamin Britten: “Growing up I traveled to the Vatican to sing Leonard Berstein’s Mass as a boy soprano soloist.” Le Boeuf continues, “I was also obsessed with Mingus and listened to Mingus Ah Um every night for a year while I slept so that I would internalize it. I had no idea at the time how these childhood experiences would shape my musical taste. They continue to serve me as a composer to this day.” In its emotional breadth, contrapuntal intricacy and exacting attention paid to texture and timbre, Le Boeuf’s work on Assembly of Shadows establishes him as a writer of exceptional power and promise. Reflecting on what he’s endeavored with Assembly of Shadows, Le Boeuf concludes: “I’ve always felt that in order to best honor a tradition, one ought to expand upon it. I am simply building on the foundations laid by my favorite composers, and taking the colors and gestures of jazz and 20th-century American classical music in some new directions.”

Imaginist - Le Boeuf Brothers + Jack quartet

Based on the “Imaginist” poetry movement, the Le Boeuf Brothers present an amalgamation of fresh improvisatory approaches with an informed compositional aesthetic branching from literature, jazz, and the "new music" community. The hybridized 9-piece chamber ensemble features JACK Quartet, one of New York’s premier string quartets devoted to contemporary classical music, as well as a collection of longtime collaborators including Grammy-nominated tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel (Kneebody), alternating bassists Ben Street and Martin Nevin, and alternating drummers Justin Brown and Peter Kronreif.