Jazz Reflections on Frankenstein

What Survives is a two-volume collection of 26 original jazz recordings that grew out of Tobin Mueller’s project to bring the narrative of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to the stage. It began as a one-act musical entitled “Frankenspell Superstar,” originally  conceived as a progressive rock opera. Most likely, the initial motivation was one of “getting even” with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which enjoyed mass popularity in spite of it trivial shallowness. By 1995 “Frankenspell Superstar” had matured into Creature a full-length Broadway show performed at the John Houseman Theatre, followed by an eighteen-month off-Broadway run at The Thirteenth Street Theatre.

The ordering of the 26 tracks of What Survives does not follow how they were presented over the course of Creature. The objective of the album seems to have less to do with providing an account of the narrative and more to do with taking the full scope of the show’s “incidental” music and endowing it with more of a “foreground” treatment. To this end, Mueller, who plays a prodigious number of different keyboard instruments, assembled a moderately large ensemble with a front line of three saxophones (Woody Mankowski on soprano, Doug Schneider and Tom Washatka on tenor) and two brass (Ken Schaphorst on flugelhorn and Bob Levy on trumpet). Rhythm was provided by percussionist Dane Richeson, Jeff Cox on bass, and Chris Mueller (nephew of the composer) on piano. Mankowski is also one of the vocalists on the album, joined by Emily Rohm and Jessica Flood as well as the multi-voice combo called The CenterStage Players. There are also guest instrumentalists, including bassist Ron Carter.

Cover of the Radio Edits version of Tobin Mueller’s What Survives (from the Amazon.com Web page)

For those interested in a full-extent account of the relationship between the music he composed and the narrative served by his compositions, Mueller has prepared a lengthy Web page, which provides a track-by-track account of all of the pieces on the album. Since the album itself has only been released for digital download from a Web page that provides only the 26 tracks, Mueller’s Web site is essential for those whose interest in music goes beyond “background stimulation.” The reader of that Web page will note that fifteen of the tracks also have a shorter “Radio Edit” version. All of those tracks have been collected on a Radio Edits album, which has been released as a CD with an Amazon.com Web page. That physical release also includes two bonus tracks from the full release.

Personally, I prefer the 26-track release. While I am not consistently impressed by the vocal selections, the instrumental work covers a wide diversity of styles. The members of the group play in different combinations over the course of the entire album. However, the musicianship is always consistently right on the money, endowing each track with its own capacity to appeal to the attentive listener. Given the relatively dire straits of jazz radio, I am not sure how much impact the Radio Edits release will have; but the “whole enchilada” will definitely appeal to those that take their jazz listening seriously.