Album Review of
Jukebox

Written by Joe Ross
January 24, 2021 - 6:54pm EST
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Wayne Alpern’s arrangements express real musical value. Jukebox features twenty tunes, reinvented with a copious amount of fun-loving creativity, and masterfully played by the Dorian Wind Quintet. From New York City, the Quintet is Gretchen Pusch (flute), Gerard Reuter (oboe), Benjamin Fingland (clarinet), Karl Kramer-Johansen (horn), and Adrian Morejon (bassoon). Formed at Tanglewood in 1961, they’ve since built an extensive resume of collaborations, commissions, tours, residencies and recordings. On Jukebox, each short, sweet track is gently presented with a pleasurable, breezy touch of precision, delicacy and conviction. Delivered with dynamics and personality, the arrangements give each instrument plenty of opportunities in the limelight. We hear an eclectic variety of offerings from chamber music (“Bartok Chorale,” “Nutcracker Suite” and “Handel Allegro”) to pop (“Penny Lane”), and Broadway hits (“Do-Re-Mi” and “Surrey with the Fringe”) to jazz standards (“Blue Moon” and “In a Sentimental Mood”). Some favorites are Alpern’s arrangements of the theme from “Downton Abbey,” “Over the Rainbow” and “Penny Lane.”  Each track, at 2-3 minutes, is a pleasing aural experience as musical notes move buoyantly and effortlessly from one to the next. The twenty selections programmed on Jukebox are in alphabetical order from “Accustomed to Her Face” to “You’ve Got a Friend,” and they flow very nicely from beginning to end. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)