#dynamic maximum tension

[nonesuchrecords]

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society performs the Dynamic Maximum Tension album track “Dymaxion”—a portmanteau of the album title—from the song’s recording session. You can pre-order the album, due September 8, here.

[nonesuchrecords]

NPR Music's Best Songs of 2023 include Darcy James Argue's Secret Society's "Mae West: Advice," from Dynamic Maximum Tension ("Mae West ... is the inspiration for this lascivious big band number, which is fitting, given that she put Duke Ellington in one of her movies. Cécile McLorin Salvant purrs one-liners as Ingrid Jensen’s trumpet sashays over a lush arrangement."); Salvant's Mélusine title track ("The pensive, poetical title track of Salvant’s latest album is a mystery nestled within a bedtime story—infused with desire that slow-burns beneath Renaissance decorum."); and Vagabon's “Autobahn," from Sorry I Haven't Called ("Laetitia Tamko urges us to 'forget enough to love what you remember,' a poignant battlecry to discard trauma and/or embrace nostalgia. In other words, a song for basically everyone."). You can find the complete list here.

[nonesuchrecords]

“Fifteen years ago, [Darcy James Argue] began making waves with his exciting 18-piece orchestra, Secret Society,” BBC Radio 3’s J to Z presenter Kevin Le Gendre says of his guest. “He’s gone from strength to strength ever since and is now one of contemporary jazz’s most notable large ensemble leaders. His music is as interesting and atmospheric as it is gutsy and powerful …” You can hear Argue talk about and share some of the music that’s influenced him and his new album, Dynamic Maximum Tension, by Miles Davis and Gil Evans, Irving Berlin, Bob Brookmeyer, and Duke Ellington, at about 50 minutes into the episode here.

[nonesuchrecords]

Composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue and his Secret Society ensemble make their Nonesuch Records debut with Dynamic Maximum Tension, out now. You can get it and hear it here.

The album pays homage to some of Argue’s key influences with original songs dedicated to R. Buckminster Fuller, Alan Turing, and Mae West. Cécile McLorin Salvant joins for “Mae West: Advice.” "Superb … Dynamic Maximum Tension is a delight," exclaims All About Jazz. The New York City Jazz Record adds: "Remarkable in its ambition, scope, and sheer length, this is Argue’s crowning achievement to date."

[reubenhernandez]

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - Dynamic Maximum Tension - Behind the Scenes

Take a look behind the scenes of the making of 'Dynamic Maximum Tension,' the new album by three-time Grammy Award nominated Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, due September 8 on Nonesuch Records. Directed by Reuben Hernandez Music composed by Darcy James Argue Filmed on location at Power Station at BerkleeNYC

[nonesuchrecords]

“The music on Dynamic Maximum Tension consists mostly of portraits of people—Buckminster Fuller and Alan Turing and Mae West and Duke Ellington,” composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue says of his upcoming album with his Secret Society ensemble in this new behind-the-scenes video made by Reuben Hernandez at PowerStation in NYC during the recording. "I tried to think about, well, what are the places in my life where I turn to look for optimism and inspiration and the idea that the future is something to be anticipated rather than dreaded. So that’s the impetus for so much of the music on this record—to look to a period in the past where the future seemed brighter than it does today, and to try to find a way to represent that optimism about the future in music some way.”

[nonesuchrecords]

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society has released "Last Waltz for Levon," a new song from their upcoming album, Dynamic Maximum Tension, due September 8. The track is dedicated to drummer and vocalist Levon Helm of The Band. Argue's treatment, featuring solos by trombonist Mike Fahie and bassist Matt Clohesy, is also inspired by the horn arrangements written by legendary songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint for The Band's classic live album Rock of Ages. 

[nonesuchrecords]

Happy Buckminster Fuller's 128th birthday! You can hear Darcy James Argue's Secret Society’s “Dymaxion,” a portmanteau of ‘dynamic maximum tension’—the title of their upcoming album—Fuller coined to describe his concept of using technology and resources to maximum advantage, here.