Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto

John McNeil, trumpet; Allan Chase, baritone saxophone; John Hebert, bass; Matt Wilson, drums, slide whistle

Ever wondered if a twelve-tone row could swing? No? Well, honestly, the concept never crossed my mind either, but jazz trumpeter John McNeil plays that card to surprising effect off a genuine Schoenberg quotation. It’s just a three-minute tune making an appearance at the end of a disc that’s so swank it would not surprise me in the least if Philip Marlowe walked over and lit my cigarette, but it’s also more than just a clever closer. It really finds its groove. But when and how did the tone row find its cool? “There’s just a feeling you get from a truly atonal line—where all the pitches are present—that you can’t get from a chromatic line,” writes McNeil, who then lets us in on a little secret. “Sometimes when I get a commission to write some ‘inside’ music, I can get a tone row in there, and they won’t even know it.”

—MS