Going Where They Want You To Go

The Cinematic Orchestra - Panoramica - Piero Umiliani (The Cinematic Orchestra Remix)

Of all the artists I've favored, The Cinematic Orchestra is perhaps the most formulaic; a quality that's as much a function of their vision as it is a tool of their musical expression. For musicians and listeners alike, jazz is frequently viewed as an expanse; something that can shift as wildly as an artists skill and style can allow - often within the same song. It's never been clear to me that The Cinematic Orchestra disagrees: only that they have a vested interest in structurally seeming like they disagree. The compositional feint their style rests on makes a foundation out of melodically prominent repetition, and while that never acts as the substance of their music, it's often the basis for what their music becomes.

It's a style encompassed by letting form and structure guide musical progression. The constant, often unchanged application of a compositional refrain isn't fairly viewed as a gimmick or a flaw: it's a path. And one they deviate from with a pristine, calculated delicacy that makes their constant divergences almost unnoticeable. It's music with a wordlessly narrative quality that seems to gradually depict something intangible rather than simply being a forum to flaunt apparent skill.