Man, what a delight. That was the first thing I thought to myself when getting swept up in the opening minutes of A Symphony of Amaranths, the incredible jazz orchestra composition from Neil Ardley, noted composer and writer of over 100 books on science, technology, and music. This was a complete blind buy: not being available on streaming services I only noticed it when browsing through the new stock on LaserCD and based on the description took a chance as I was already ordering a few other albums. I’m so glad I did; Ardley masterfully combines the two genres into a moving piece of art that is rich and vibrant and joyous, something my body and soul desperately required.

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