Le Boeuf is catching up with his imagination
The muusician and composer coming to the Bay Area with new album in tow
Some kids growing up in the 1990s played air guitar in their bedroom, picturing themselves on stage rocking out in an arena. Some kids made mixtapes and honed their rapping skills.
Santa Cruz-raised Remy Le Boeuf appropriated his sister’s karaoke machine to record intricate orchestral jazz arrangements inspired by Charles Mingus.
“I’d never do anything with them, but I was hearing all these different instruments in my head,” recalled the 35-year-old saxophonist and composer. “I’ve always heard all these colors in my imagination.”
While there are many twists and turns between that karaoke machine and his Assembly of Shadows, there’s a clear through line from those childhood creations to the arrestingly beautiful orchestral jazz Le Boeuf will present Saturday at the Sound Room in Oakland.
With the Bay Area’s 17-piece Electric Squeezebox Orchestra standing in for the Assembly of Shadows’ New York cast, the Brooklyn-based Le Boeuf celebrates the release of the
project’s second album “Architecture of Storms.”
While the first album, 2019’s “Assembly of Shadows,” earned Le Boeuf two Grammy Award nominations, he’s best known for the his work with his identical twin, pianist/composer Pascal, in the Le Boeuf Brothers, a prolific group that’s worked extensively with string quartets.
Remy still loves playing in small combos, like the quartet he brings to Mr. Tipples in San Francisco on Friday with the Bay Area rhythm section of pianist Matt Wong, bassist Giulio Xavier Cetto and drummer Mike Mitchell. But from the moment he arrived in New York City at 18 to study at the Manhattan School of Music, Le Boeuf realized “there were certain things that are too big for quintet.”
“On our earlier records I was layering woodwinds,” he said. “Writing for jazz orchestra, something clicked into place. Finally, I’ve got enough colors to paint the picture. This is what I’ve been hearing this whole time. I can have these very sensitive moments and big grand moments, intimacy next to explosions. It’s where I am right now.”
As a player, Le Boeuf puts his stamp on the ensemble, particularly with his liquid, light-toned alto sax work. (He’s also heard on soprano sax, flute and alto flute.) But the Assembly of Shadows itself is his primary instrument. The writing is bright, clear and full of intricately voiced movement.
His sonic palette encompassing European classical music and indie rock, minimalism and of course his
jazz forebearers, including Duke Ellington, Mingus, and Maria Schneider. More than anything, the music is sumptuously, unabashedly gorgeous without ever edging close to cloying or sentimental.
“A lot of people feel like if something is beautiful it’s not innovative,” Le Boeuf said. “I’m not too cool to be beautiful, and strong, lyrical melodies are a part of that. There are times I want something really guttural or angular, and I might juxtapose that to something beautiful, which brings out the character of each one even stronger. I think a lot of people prioritize being impressive over being beautiful or sincere.”
Though Le Boeuf leaves a good deal of space for improvised solos, the Electric Squeezebox musicians will
be contending with a lot of sheet music on the Sound Room stage. As a featured soloist, he figured from the beginning that he couldn’t also direct the band’s performance. Reaching out to a trusted friend, he recruited Gregory Robbins, his roommate from his first year in New York.
With his background as a jazz bassist, Robbins knows all about the pulse of jazz, but his primary position is conducting the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra in Southern California.
He’s used to stepping off the straight and narrow path, for instance leading a Brooklyn Academy of Music performance by Velvet Underground guitarist John Cale’s Wordless Music Orchestra, or a sold-out concert at Anime Boston by the Video Game Orchestra.
He conducted Assembly of Shadows for recordings and the performances and will be keeping the music on track at the Sound Room.
With his intimate perspective on Le Boeuf’s musical development, Robbins sees “a real fearlessness in his music and an unmistakable musical identity.
“Assembly of Shadows reflects a lot of growth as he’s integrated a lot of styles and genres,” Robbins said. “He wasn’t setting out to do a crossover classical/jazz thing. He does have a deep understanding of Aaron Copeland and Stravinsky and indie rock, but this is his way of writing music on a larger canvas with a degree of orchestrational subtly that’s rare in that genre.”