City of Glass & This Modern World

AMG Review of City of Glass & This Modern World

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

To call this music shocking would be an understatement. Bob Graettinger was one of the most radical arrangers around in the 1950s and it is doubtful whether any other jazz big-band leader other than Stan Kenton would have ever employed him. His two major works, "City of Glass" and "This Modern World," are heard in their entirety on this LP and these atonal compositions still sound extremely advanced. A large string section is employed on the former while the latter features Maynard Ferguson's screaming trumpet on two of the six movements. These performances are intense, very dense and quite scary. Recommended for open-eared listeners.