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Patrick Zimmerli and Octurn The Book of Hours (SGL 1541-2; 24-bit recording, CD) Release date: Sept 2002 (Can); Oct 2002 (U.S.) Patrick Zimmerli (soprano saxophone), Laurent Blondiau (trumpet, flugelhorn), Geoffroy De Masure (trombone), Guillame Orti (alto saxophone), Bo Van der Werf (baritone saxophone), Fabian Fiorini (piano), Pierre Van Dormael (electric guitar), Otti Van der Werf (electric bass), Jen-Luc Lehr (electric bass), Stephane Galland (drums), Chander Sardjoe (drums), Ben Monder (acoustic and electric guitars). Patrick Zimmerli is one of the most unusual jazz composer/saxophonists around. For his third Songlines release he teams up with the 10-piece Belgian band Octurn for an hour-long jazz suite whose movements represent different times of the day. From the rolling, earth-awakening Dawn to the Euclidian angularity of the strikingly noble Noon and frenetic Afternoon, and on to the calmer late-day periods and the dreamtime wrap-up of Sleep, the suite traverses a broad emotional continuum. Setting off the journey is a series of short chamber-jazz interludes in a contemplative mood, building from duet to sextet. At times reminiscent of everything from Stravinsky ballet music to the horn-driven shouts of the rock band Chicago, charged by Octurn's remarkable double rhythm section, and featuring strong solos by the band, Zimmerli, and guest artist Ben Monder, The Book of Hours is a treasure-house of brilliant orchestral ideas, layered sonorities, and involving polyrhythms, all in the service of an original creative vision. Born (1968) and raised in the New York area, Patrick Zimmerli received his BA in literature and music composition and a DMA in Composition from Columbia University. He studied saxophone with Joe Lovano, and has worked with jazz notables T.S. Monk, Kevin Hays, Bill Stewart, and Don Sickler. In 1993 he won the first annual BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute Composers' Competition, and in 1995 he directed the InstituteÕs Jazz Ambassadors, a quintet of past winners that toured Africa (CD on Jazz City). His own CDs include two with his Ensemble, Explosion (SGL 1508, 1995) and Expansion (SGL 1530, 2000), and Twelve Sacred Dances (commissioned by the Jazz Composers Collective; Arabesque, 1998). Among his more than 100 compositions are two piano concertos (both premiered by the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and to be recorded by them); a string quartet; Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra; and Waves, commissioned and recorded by the French jazz ensemble Kartet. He received the 2003 Gil Evans Fellowship Commission for a work for big band, to be premiered at the IAJE Annual Convention in Toronto in January 2003. The same month the Seattle Chamber Music Festival will premiere his Piano Trio. Zimmerli is also active in New YorkÕs commercial music scene, and co-composed and orchestrated the music for the feature film The Deep End. Watch for concerts by his new performing group, Phoenix, consisting of saxophone, piano, string quartet, electric bass, and percussion/electronics. Octurn, a Brussels-based collective led by Bo Van der Werf that also features outstanding French and Dutch performers, came together in 1992 and has released 4 CDs on the W.E.R.F. label (www.dewerf.be). The band has always been open to influences from beyond jazz (Frederic Rzewski commissions are included on two of its CDs), and has taken various forms over the years. For its latest incarnation, the double rhythm section project, Octurn commissioned The Book of Hours from Zimmerli and toured it with him throughout Belgium in November-December 2000. The other compositions for this project are by Bo Van der Werf, Geoffroy De Masure, and Antoine Prawerman, and can be heard on their new CD, Dimensions; these pieces often expand on M-Base concepts, with polyrhythmic beats and funky bass lines, but also work with ideas from big band swing, bop, jazz-rock, and contemporary classical music. Members of Octurn have performed in many other contexts; for individual bios go to www.jazzinbelgium.org/groups/octurn.htm, www.hask.com/fr/festival/octurn/octurn.htm, and www.jazzinbelgium.org/mus/galand.htm. Press for Patrick Zimmerli Ensemble CDs on Songlines: **** "...an entirely unique compositional aesthetic... Zimmerli melds advanced contemporary classical technique with offbeat jazz rhythms, leading to a fascinating blend. For all its complexity, there is something deliciously accessible about the music. The two standards are marvelous recreations." —All Music Guide **** "Zimmerli's impressionistic dreamscapes amid the band's heated flurries and circuitous discourses signify a mark of invention while the saxophonist pursues a sound and style that is clearly his own!"—AllAboutJazz.com

* Dawn * Interlude (duet) * Morning * Interlude (trio) * Afternoon * Dusk * Interlude (sextet) * Night * Sleep