Heartland Radio Remy Le Boeuf

• 1 Heartland Radio 07:25
• 2 Stop & Go 06:06
• 3 New Beginnings 06:34
• 4 Barbara 03:39
• 5 Golden Handcuffs 07:48
• 6 Little Song 05:47
• 7 Walking on Water 05:59
• Total Runtime 43:18

Info for Heartland Radio

On Heartland Radio, the four-time Grammy-nominated composer and saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf finds inspiration in the ever-shifting soundscape of the great American road trip. Through seven tracks of stunning ingenuity and intimacy, Le Boeuf’s large ensemble Assembly of Shadows melds modern jazz language and classical textures with ideas and emotions gleaned from pop radio. Echoes of indie rock, R&B, dance-pop, alternative, and EDM infuse breathtaking orchestral harmony, nimble ensemble interplay and masterful solos — including those by the bandleader, whose crystalline alto work exhibits a depth of understanding that only the music’s composer could attain.

In the process, Le Boeuf bridges the gaps between geographic and artistic communities — jazz and classical and contemporary music, high culture and pop culture — much as he’s done throughout his career. From co-leading the acclaimed Le Boeuf Brothers with his identical twin, to gigging with pop-rock band HAIM and collaborating with producer Prefuse 73, he’s the sort of wide-open musician whose only criterion is quality –– “I’m bringing together everything I love and making it my own.”

The catalyst for Le Boeuf’s cross-country journey was his appointment as the Director of Jazz & Commercial Music Studies at the University of Denver. Le Boeuf and his partner set off from Brooklyn in a 16-foot Penske truck, “and all we did was listen to the radio with the windows down. When you’re driving across the U.S., there aren’t many jazz stations; it’s just whatever comes up. All the songs on the album reflect this transition in my life, and draw on the music we heard along the way.” Heartland Radio, he says, “is about having fun. It’s about wanting to dance and sing along.”

The kickoff title track, which Le Boeuf says, “encapsulates my vision for the album more than any other song,” contains multitudes: drums that evoke the epicness of Bon Iver; influence from Thom Yorke and the British electropop outfit Clean Bandit; a fleeting Justin Bieber quote (seriously); and a rousing conversation between Le Boeuf and trumpeter Philip Dizack––the two musicians reaffirm their fiery chemistry as complementary soloists later on “Golden Handcuffs.”

“Stop & Go,” features a verse/chorus structure with an ’80s-pop feel in the chorus, as well as a guitar solo from Max Light that hits like a master class in narrative development. Thematically, Le Boeuf says, it “captures the craziness of my life at the time — juggling my career, personal life, and my job as a professor while integrating into a new community.

The road-trip playlist hits D’Angelo and Al Green terrain with the neo-soulful “New Beginnings,” a tribute to Roy Hargrove and a “celebration of the trumpet” featuring Mike Rodriguez on flugelhorn. Le Boeuf was fortunate to meet Hargrove, the late, great bandleader and mentor, several times, and counts a concert by Hargrove’s RH Factor — which he surreptitiously recorded to MiniDisc — as one of the “best shows I ever saw in my life.” “Roy set an example for how to mentor and how to support folks through just his being there, his presence in the scene,” says Le Boeuf.

Le Boeuf’s power-ballad, “Walking on Water” — inspired by a stroll across a frozen Brooklyn lake — is a rock-anthem perfectly designed to showcase tenor saxophonist Lucas Pino’s strength and finesse. “Little Song,” by the trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis, with an arrangement and a tour-de-force solo by Le Boeuf, reflects the dynamic pathos of folkie Nick Drake.

The poignant “Barbara” flits the radio dial between classic early ’70s folk-pop and the kind of smart, jazz-tinged singer-songwriter music associated with Brian Blade or Rebecca Martin. A collaboration between Le Boeuf and the poet Sara Pirkle, “Barbara” was written for the California-based sculptor, Barbara Holmes, whose work is featured on the album’s cover. “We’re not in love with Barbara,” Le Boeuf says with a chuckle, “we just think she deserves a love song.” Nonetheless, a deep feeling of unrequited yearning, of impassioned desperation even, fills Julia Easterlin’s vocal performance as well as Martha Kato’s piano solo.

Though “Barbara” is perhaps the most pointed example, all of Le Boeuf’s work communicates sensitivity, intelligence, and empathy — from the way his soloists so often shine in tandem, to the textural use of volume. “I like to connect with people,” he says. “And I like to explore that in music. My music is very personal. We write the lives that we live.”

Gregory Robbins, conductor
Julia Easterlin, vocals (track 4)
Danielle Wertz, vocals (track 6)
Remy Le Boeuf, alto saxophone, flute, alto flute
Alejandro Aviles, flute, alto saxophone
Lucas Pino, tenor saxophone, clarinet
John Lowery, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Carl Maraghi, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Tony Kadleck, trumpet
Tony Glausi, trumpet
Philip Dizack, trumpet
Mike Rodriguez, trumpet
Mike Fahie, trombone
Alan Ferber, trombone
Javier Nero, trombone
Jennifer Wharton, trombone
Alex Goodman, guitar
Max Light, guitar (track 2)
Martha Kato, piano
Dan Montgomery, bass
Peter Kronreif, drums
Pascal Le Boeuf, keyboards (tracks 1, 2)

Remy Le Boeuf
s a 4x Grammy-nominated composer and saxophonist whose music is rooted in the jazz tradition and overlaps into contemporary classical and indie-rock realms. Le Boeuf is also the founder and director of the jazz orchestra, Assembly of Shadows, as well as the Chief Conductor of the Nordkraft Big Band in Denmark. He has worked with a range of collaborators including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Linda Oh, HAIM, JACK Quartet, Dayna Stephens, Prefuse 73, and his identical twin brother Pascal, with whom he co-leads the experimental jazz quintet, Le Boeuf Brothers.

With his debut jazz orchestra release, Assembly of Shadows (2019), Le Boeuf established himself as a unique voice with a penchant for cinematic majesty and melody-driven themes. Hailed by the New York Times for his music’s “overwhelming beauty,” he quickly earned two Grammy nominations for Best Instrumental Composition & Best Arrangement the following year. In 2021, he released a complementary sequel, Architecture of Storms (2021), showcasing his acrobatic saxophone playing while exploring the diversity of his emotions and influences. His sophomore album garnered two additional Grammy nominations for Best LargeJazz Ensemble Album and Best Arrangement, Instrumental or a Capella.

Le Boeuf's list of honors include commissions from Chamber Music America, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, as well as 7 ASCAP Young Composer Awards, the BMI Foundation's Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, the Sammy Nestico Award, and the Copland House Residency Award. He has received additional awards from the American Composers Forum, Jerome Foundation, Copland Fund, YoungArts, Cafe Royal Cultural Foundation, New York Youth Symphony, International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers, and Society of Composers.

Le Boeuf is the Director of Jazz and Commercial Music Studies and an Assistant Professor at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.

This album contains no booklet.