News

Through the Mangrove Tunnels was reviewed this month by BBC Music Magazine and the Whole Note. Giving the album 4/5 stars, BBC Music Magazine describes the album as “a knotty, discombobulating adventure.” Cheryl Ockrant of the Whole Note praises the album as “a welcome escape from my own four walls. This album is great storytelling, an audiofilm of tales of imaginative discoveries… I was captivated.” “Lee manages to engage the listener with his blend of contemporary classical and extended jazz techniques, travelling seamlessly between tonalities and poly-rhythmic styles without a single extraneous or gratuitous beat. Each track is expertly crafted to tell a tale of mystery.” “Gorgeous composition.”

The Bozeman Symphony presents Scott Lee as its first-ever Composer-in-Residence. During his residency starting in May 2021, Lee is commissioned by the Symphony to write a piece inspired by the unique spirit and energy of Bozeman that will open the much-anticipated 2021-2022 concert season. In addition to a world premiere piece, Lee will engage with the community through multiple virtual events in February 2021, and in-person events throughout the 2021-22 season.

Reviews for Through the Mangrove Tunnels this month come from WIRE Magazine and Textura. Vanessa Ague describes the album in WIRE Magazine (UK) as “compelling…[striking] a balance between catchy grooves and dissonance.” Textura praises the album as a “vivid and highly personal evocation” that is “both impressionistic and programmatic.” The Australian music blog The Blurb also featured the album in its weekly “selection of the best new music.”

Through the Mangrove Tunnels was reviewed this month by AllMusic.com and An Earful. Giving the album 4/5 stars, AllMusic’s James Manheim says, “the musical construction is eclectic, to be sure, but also logically put together, and overall, this is an exciting work that is both rigorously contemporary and fully accessible.” An Earful praised the album on its Best of 2020: Classical list as “delightful and highly original music” that is “a cinematic blast from start to finish.”

Appearing as the cover of Sunday’s Floridian section, the feature article delves into the inspiration behind Scott Lee’s album Through the Mangrove Tunnels, which was released on November 13th. Christopher Spata calls the album’s title track “ethereal,” evoking “a sense of gliding over the water beneath the arching mangrove canopy.” He remarks that the “epic” Ballad of Willie Cole “has a wide, narrative scope with moments of chaos, intense unease and sorrow.”

Reviews for Through the Mangrove Tunnels this month come from Midwest Record, which praises the album as “great stuff for when you’ve got a taste for something deep that won’t leave you cold” and the Art Music Lounge, which describes it an “interesting album, full of novel ideas” and “extremely fascinating.”

Reporter Josh Bradley declares that Lee’s recently released album, Through the Mangrove Tunnels, “perfectly captures the enigmatic essence of St. Pete’s Weedon Island”.

Toby Moisey interviews Lee about his new album, Through the Mangrove Tunnels, chatting about Lee’s memories of growing up exploring the swamps and bayous of Florida and the histories of Weedon Island. Following the interview the album is played in its entirety. The radio show airs on Smithers Community Radio CICK 93.9 and Whitehorse Community Radio CJUC 92.5.

Inspired by his experiences growing up exploring the swamps and bayous of Florida, Lee’s album-length work Through the Mangrove Tunnels features the JACK Quartet with pianist Steven Beck and drummer Russell Lacy performing eight genre-straddling movements. Ranging from ominous and eerie grooves with otherworldly flourishes to ethereal, gliding strings over pulsing drums and looping harmonies, the music evokes both the dense, swampy undergrowth of the mangroves and the expansive seascape that surrounds them.

Commissioned by the Florida State Music Teachers Association, Lee’s new work for solo cello, A certain slant of light, was premiered online as a video performance by his wife, cellist Emily Austin Smith, during a general session of the FSMTA annual conference. After his initial nomination for the award, Lee was selected as the FSMTA 2020 Commissioned Composer upon submitting a portfolio of compositions. Following the premiere, the commissioned work will be considered for recognition at the national level. A panel of composers will evaluate states’ commissioned compositions in order to select the MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year.