Download of the Week: 1991 Blue Devils

When some fans think of Blue Devils’ 1991 show, “Conversations in Jazz,” they focus on this being the one corps in BD history since 1975 that placed in 5th, just 0.10 out of 6th place. That is unfortunate, as 20 years later, this show remains one of the most edgy productions ever put on the field. Those who had difficulty locking into the music in 2010’s “Through a Glass, Darkly” might find it a romp in the park after listening to this 1991 show. This has long been one of my favorite musical productions ever put on the field, combining two of my favorite jazz albums in one gloriously out-there program. Don’t let the placement fool you; this is a show you should have in your audio library. Interestingly, it’s arguable that the entire production was influenced by the music of Hungarian symphonic composer Bela Bartók. It’s been written by jazz historians that Johnny Richards’ “Adventures in Time,” written for the Stan Kenton Orchestra and originally titled “A Concerto for Orchestra,” was inspired by Bartók’s famous work of the same name. The reasoning is that Richards treated the jazz band as a single soloist, much as Bartók had done with the orchestra. Then, to top it off, the show finished with a couple of sizeable selections from Don Sebesky’s “Bird and Bela in B-flat,” a whimsical imagination of what would have transpired had jazz sax virtuoso Charlie “Bird” Parker met composer Bela Bartók. The music of Kenton’s 1962 album “Adventures in Time” has enjoyed many incarnations on the drum corps field. “Aperçu” and “Commencement” are especially hard hitting, with a sense of forward propulsion kicked into overdrive right off the line with an almost tribal explosion of footwork from the flags on the front sideline.