Maria Schneider (musician)
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
arranger, composer, and big-band leader who has won multiple awards. In 2005, her album Concert in the Garden
Concert in the Garden
Concert in the Garden is the fourth studio album by American jazz composer, Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2004 through ArtistShare and won the 2005 Grammy Award for “Best Large Ensemble Album”.-Track listing:...
won a Grammy for "Best Large Ensemble Album". It was the first Grammy for a work sold entirely via the internet.
Biography
She studied music theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1983, then earned a Masters of Music in 1985 from the Eastman School of Music, studying for one year as well at the University of Miami. Upon leaving Eastman, Gil EvansGil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
hired her as his apprentice arranger, and she collaborated with him for the next several years, producing arrangements commissioned by Sting and scoring the films The Color of Money
The Color of Money
The Color of Money is a 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis....
and Absolute Beginners
Absolute Beginners (film)
Absolute Beginners is a 1986 British rock musical film adapted from the Colin MacInnes book of the same name about life in late 1950s London. The film was directed by Julien Temple, featured David Bowie and Sade, and a breakout role by Patsy Kensit...
. Schneider went on to study with Bob Brookmeyer
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
from 1986 to 1991, as she concurrently worked as a freelance arranger in New York.
She formed The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra in 1993, appearing weekly at Visiones in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
for five years. Her orchestra has also performed at many jazz festivals and toured Europe.
Schneider was one of the first artists to use ArtistShare
ArtistShare
ArtistShare is a crowdfunding website and labelWharton Innovation and Entrepreneurship Consulted on 10/12/2011 for musicians and other creative artists which allows them to fund their projects utilizing a "fan-funding" model to allow the general public to directly finance, watch the creative...
to produce an album.
Schneider's ensemble is now titled "The Maria Schneider Orchestra". Their new album, Sky Blue
Sky Blue (album)
Sky Blue is the 5th studio album by American Jazz Composer, Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2007 through ArtistShare and was nominated for two 2008 Grammy Awards for "Best Large Jazz Ensemble" and "Best Instrumental Composition" -Track listing:# "The 'Pretty' Road" - 13:28# "Aires de...
, was released in July 2007, also via ArtistShare.
Schneider is an avid birdwatcher and enlisted band members to contribute bird calls on "Cerulean Skies" when recording Sky Blue
Sky Blue (album)
Sky Blue is the 5th studio album by American Jazz Composer, Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2007 through ArtistShare and was nominated for two 2008 Grammy Awards for "Best Large Jazz Ensemble" and "Best Instrumental Composition" -Track listing:# "The 'Pretty' Road" - 13:28# "Aires de...
Awards
Her 2004 album, Concert in the GardenConcert in the Garden
Concert in the Garden is the fourth studio album by American jazz composer, Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2004 through ArtistShare and won the 2005 Grammy Award for “Best Large Ensemble Album”.-Track listing:...
, became the first Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning recording sold exclusively via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It was named Jazz Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association
Jazz Journalists Association
The Jazz Journalists Association is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2011, it has approximately 500 members, primarily in North America but also on other continents...
, which also named Schneider Composer of the Year and Arranger of the Year and named her group Large Jazz Ensemble of the Year.
Schneider's composition "Cerulean Skies," from Sky Blue, won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Instrumental Composition in 2008.
Discography
- Evanescence (1994)
- Coming About (1995)
- Live At The Jazz Standard—Days Of Wine And Roses (2000)
- AllegresseAllegresseAllegresse is the third studio album by American jazz composer Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2000 through Enja Records.-Track listing:# "Hang Gliding" - 13:20# "Nocturne" - 7:51# "Allégresse" - 11:46# "Dissolution" - 20:47...
(2000) - Concert in the GardenConcert in the GardenConcert in the Garden is the fourth studio album by American jazz composer, Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2004 through ArtistShare and won the 2005 Grammy Award for “Best Large Ensemble Album”.-Track listing:...
(2004) - Sky BlueSky Blue (album)Sky Blue is the 5th studio album by American Jazz Composer, Maria Schneider. The album was released in 2007 through ArtistShare and was nominated for two 2008 Grammy Awards for "Best Large Jazz Ensemble" and "Best Instrumental Composition" -Track listing:# "The 'Pretty' Road" - 13:28# "Aires de...
(2007)