Hell’s never sounded as suave and soulful as it does on Sherman Irby’s Inferno by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) with Wynton Marsalis. Irby, the lead alto saxophonist for the JLCO, cleverly interprets Dante Alighieri’s epic poem from “The Divine Comedy” to create a sweeping work that takes listeners on a lyrically swinging tour of the underworld’s nine circles.

The epic composition, recorded live in 2012, lets the JLCO’s all-star improvisers give life to the colorful denizens of hell and casts the late, legendary baritone saxophonist Joe Temperley as the voice of Dante. Irby’s Inferno both stands alone as an irresistible musical narrative and sheds new light on Dante’s classic; this unique exploration of the epic poem captures its timeless quality and ingeniously places it in conversation with the jazz canon.

TRACKLISTING
 
All movements composed by Sherman Irby
Sherman Irby Publishing (BMI)
 
1. Overture: Lost
Solo: Joe Temperley (baritone saxophone)
 
2. Movement I: House of Unbelievers
Solos: Ted Nash (flute), Victor Goines (clarinet), Chris Crenshaw (trombone)
 
3. Movement II: Insatiable Hunger
Solos: Walter Blanding (tenor and soprano saxophone), Vincent Gardner (trombone)
 
4. Movement III: Beware the Wolf and the Serpent
Solos: Sherman Irby (alto saxophone), Elliot Mason (trombone), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)
 
5. Movement IV: The City of Dis
Solos: Walter Blanding (soprano saxophone and oboe), Ted Nash (flute)
 
6. Movement V: The Three-Headed Serpent
Solos: Ali Jackson (drums), Victor Goines (tenor saxophone), Ted Nash (alto saxophone), Kenny Rampton (trumpet), Marcus Printup (trumpet), Dan Nimmer (piano)
 
7. Movement VI: The Great Deceiver / Finale: The Shores of Mount Purgatory
Solos: Carlos Henriquez (bass), Dan Nimmer (piano), Joe Temperley (baritone saxophone)