Previews, reviews, interviews
 

Laura Andel Orchestra SomnambulisT by David Lewis
Cadence Magazine New York, USA October 2003
"[...] this minimalist orchestral project is one of the most impressive large ensemble recordings that I have heard in quite some time. [...] The more I immerse myself in Andel's sonic universe, the more extraordinary I find it. I urge you to check this out."
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Laura Andel Electric PercussiveOrchestra / In::tension:. by Massimo Ricci
Touching Extremes Roma, Italy, November 1, 2005
"[...] there is no doubt that the short repetitive melodies and thematic fragments going around like a bunch of stray dogs running in an open field - typical of the majority of the album - are unconventional, anticonstitutional sonic declarations which sound like no one else."
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Laura Andel Electric PercussiveOrchestra / In::tension:.  by Bruce Gallanter
Downtown Music Gallery New York, NY, November 11, 2005
"[...] Eerie morse-code like percussion, mysterious processed vocals, layers of odd electric guitar sounds and two pianos submerged in the waves of turbulent waters. [...] Laura does a fine job and controlling the subtleties and balance, as different instruments float amongst the ghost-like spirits that wander through the entire work. [...]"
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Laura Andel Orchestra SomnambulisT by Elliott Sharp
SomnabulisT CD Booklet New York, NY April 2003
"Spinning dazzling arcs from mere wisps of sound and gesture, Laura Andel brings us a music not just of notes but of the life around her [...]"
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Laura Andel Orchestra SomnambulisT by Ken Waxman
JazzWeekly.com USA, August 2003
"Occupying that mid-range between jazz and classical music, Laura Andel is a composer to watch, as much for her audacity as for her conception. [...]"
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Laura Andel Orchestra SomnambulisT by Bruce Gallanter
Downtown Music Gallery New York, NY May 2003
"[...] This strange dreamscape seems closer to Xenakis or Penderecki than to any jazz composer I can think of. Laura uses space and deals with textures in a most careful way, as each kernel of sound is there to evoke a specific vibe. [...]"
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Laura Andel Orchestra SomnambulisT by Francois Couture
All Music Guide USA, July 2003
"[...] SomnambulisT features three works by composer Laura Andel, whose music defies categorization since it draws from avant-garde jazz and modern ensemble music without hitting the creative pitfall of "third stream." [...]"
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Laura Andel Orchestra SomnambulisT by Massimo Ricci
Touching Extremes Roma, Italy June 2003
"[...] Lovers of hard-to-cathegorize artists must have their ears burning right now. [...]"
Read complete article here (scroll down until you find the review)
 

An unusual medley by DJ Jazz Kidd
Jazzfiles Magazine Berlin, Germany, July 1999
"[...] The group's unusual medley of players generates a creative aura and attracts an audience who comes for the music and not for the event. Avant garde meets conservatory establishment, improvisation meets notation, young musicians meet young composers and a young audience. At the Kalkscheune on this late summer evening the atmosphere is anything but dull. With cunning and endurance, Laura Andel and Oli Bott are creating a reputation which is beginning to carry them. [...]"
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Editorial Profile by James Isaacs
Boston's CitySearch Boston, MA, May 2000
"[...] Andel is one of New England's most provocative writers for large improvising ensembles [...]", and mentions that "[Andel] was for a time based in Berlin and was a figure of some consequence on that cosmopolitan city's avant-garde scene.[...]"
 

Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra Celebration of the Spirit by Jay Collins
One Final NoteSt. Paul, MN, June 2004
"[...] The fiery winds do rule on the shortest piece of the set, Andel's "Nodes" that, like the previous piece, builds to a bright apex before subsiding to a slow crawl. [...]"
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10 Years of Red Toucan Records Amalgam(e)by Matthew Sumera
Red Toucan: Then and Now, One Final NoteSt. Paul, MN, July 2004
"[...] The Laura Andel Orchestra is featured on track eight (from somnambulist) in a four-minute take on sustain—bowed cymbals, heavy on the strings, with some processed (?) white-noise accompaniment. A haunting piece, truly. [...]"
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Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra In, Thru, and Out by Steven Loewy
All Music Guide USA, July 2003
"[...] While few of the players on this album are well-known beyond their locale [...], the key is in the writing, which is universally superb. [...]"
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Eight Days a Week
Boston Phoenix Boston, MA, June 2000
"[...]her line-up boasts a diverse crew of some of the best improvisers in town [...] whom you rarely see playing together.[...]"
 

Das erschossene Klavier (The Piano That Was Shot Dead) by Josef Engels
Die Welt Berlin, Germany, June 3, 1999
"[...]Andel concentrates with an ironical approach on the power of sounds. For example, in her piece "The Squirrel", she develops a ludicrous but strictly organized duck-singing out of grunt sounds in the reed section. Original and amusing, Berlin deserves more Big Bands like this.[...]"
 

Beyond Tango by Rob Hochschild
Berklee Website Archives Boston, January 1999
"Laura Andel is a composer whose work defies categorization. Her broad musical pallette sometimes blends Latin and Middle Eastern styles; other times it mixes Asian with American moods. There are moments when her music holds the seriousness of classical symphonic music, and then moves suddenly and seamlessly into wild flights of free improvisation. [...]"
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Writers' Orchestrations Do The Talking by Bob Blumenthal
The Boston Globe Boston, May 26, 1998
"[...] Andel’s "Dream Colors" was more assaultive, and more military as band members stomped their feet in formation at start and finish; yet surprisingly delicate colors from muted trumpet and guitar also wove their way through the volatile ensembles that surrounded combustible solos [...]"
 

Young Jazz Composers Move To The Forefront by Willard Jenkins
BMI Music World Magazine Fall 1997
"[...] It has often been argued that these young artists know their way around their instruments, but purely in a technical sense; the standard put-down said very few of them had real personalities on their instruments, and fewer still were writing music that advanced the art form. [...] there are a number of thirty-something jazz artists writing and arranging increasingly significant music. Among the newcomers are two examples of jazz unique exportability: Argentine composer Laura Andel [...], who recently copped the first BMI Foundation/Jerry Harrington Composers Award for her piece "El Pire"  [...]"
 
 

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