Cirque du Soleil

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Grand
Chapiteau

Musique

Koozå
CDSMC-10028

Composer /// Jean-François Côté

Run Time (68:26)

 01: "KOOZA Dance"........... (3:28)
 02: "Superstar I"........... (2:27)
 03: "L’Innocent"............ (5:50)
 04: "Royaume"............... (3:40)
 05: "Junoon"................ (5:31)
 06: "Alambre Alto".......... (4:59)
 07: "16- Papillon".......... (5:08)
 08: "Pearl"................. (4:07)
 09: "Cabaret Satã".......... (3:12)
 10: "Aankh Micholi"......... (4:28)
 11: "Diables"............... (3:36)
 12: "El Péndulo de
          la Muerte"......... (3:02)
 13: "Petit-Jaune"........... (1:43)
 14: "Superstar II".......... (3:23)
 15: "Imposteur"............. (1:21)
 16: "Prarthana"............. (4:50)
 17: "Don’t Be Afraid"....... (3:46)
 18: "Hum Jaisa Na Dekha".... (3:53)

[ Liner Notes • CD Review • Release History ]

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From the Producers

Bob and Bill would especially like to thank Alain Vinet and Jean-François Côté for their unwavering confidence, as well as Carol Ryan, Isabelle Cliche and Claude Simard. Their gratitude also goes out to the musicians and singers, as well as the sound engineers Rob, Rod, Mathieu, Rick and Adam for their remarkable talent and generosity.

Production Notes

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Song Credits

KOOZA DANCE - { Credit }

SUPERSTAR I - { Credit }

L'INNOCENT - { Credit }

ROYAUME - { Credit }

JUNOON - { Credit }

ALAMBRE ALTO - { Credit }

16-PAPILLON - { Credit }

PEARL - { Credit }

CABARET SATA - { Credit }

AANKH MICHOLI - { Credit }

DIABLES - { Credit }

EL PENDULO DE LA MUERTE - { Credit }

PETIT-JAUNE - { Credit }

SUPERSTAR II - { Credit }

IMPOSTEUR - { Credit }

PRARTHANA - { Credit }

DON'T BE AFRAID - { Credit }

HUM JAISA NA DEKHA - { Credit }

Ensembles

BRASS SECTION 1 - { Credit }

BRASS SECTION 2 - { Credit }

BRASS SECTION 3 - { Credit }

ORCHESTRA - { Credit }

CHOIR - { Credit }

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Text by: Richard Russo | May-June 2008
Fascination! Newsletter, Issue #59

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"Koozå: 'Live it Up' on CD and DVD!"

Koozå, the story of an innocent and charming clown who strives to find his own place in the world, is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil. It combines two circus traditions - acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. Between strength and fragility, laughter and chills, and turmoil and harmony, Koozå is an electrifying and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, audacity and total involvement. And after more than a year on the road and months of anticipation, as of June 24, 2008, Cirque du Soleil's newest traveling production finally has an audio/video collection fans can purchase in three ways: in brick-and-mortar stores, in online boutiques and in downloadable form (CD only).

I recently got my hands on these items while taking in Koozå in Chicago over the July 4th weekend, and give now give you my quick, "first blush" review.

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From a packaging standpoint, the CD and DVD are interesting to say the least. They are amongst the first in Cirque du Soleil's catalogue to deviate from the standard plastic CD/DVD packaging normally seen on store shelves, by using 100% post-consumer recycled materials. While the Wintuk CD released last November became the first all-cardboard release, and the "Mystery of Mystère", "FLOW: a Tribute to the Artists of "O"" and "A Thrilling Ride Through KOOZÅ" documentaries were all released in a similar fashion, the Koozå items here are the first to completely use this process inside out - there is not one piece of plastic inside. This new policy also applies to all of Cirque du Soleil's programme books and CDs - one of many new programs Cirque has adopted to assist the environment and reduce waste.

Be that as it may, both products sport the signature look of the show - a package doused in purple and splashed only with the colorful show logo. So let's take a look, shall we?

-{ THE KOOZÅ CD }-

UPC -- 8-43277-01658-5
Catalog -- CDSMCD-10028-2
Run Time -- 68:26
Retail -- $19.50 USD / $19.50 CDN
Electronic -- $9.99 full album / $0.99 per track

"The music of Koozå beautifully demonstrates the spirit of the live show with its themes of human connection and fun in a world of duality. With a stream of uplifting songs with timeless influences where forms and styles intertwine seamlessly, the music of Koozå is inspired by the sounds of western pop culture, from 1970s Funk to full orchestral arrangements. It also draws heavily on traditional Indian music."

Having enjoyed the music live in Chicago, earlier in San Francisco and at its premiere in Montreal, the CD was one I was most anxious to hear. Would it have all my favorite tracks, or would it be like other Cirque show CDs, which pick and chose tracks from the show?) And would it sound like the live show, or would it be an "inspired by" soundtrack like Varekai? If not, would the title track at least have the brass instruments I so loved from the shows opening, or would they be replaced by some strange mixed-up instrument?

There are 18 tracks presented on the CD, which I am pleased to say run through every major piece of music in the show but one -- the Hand-to- Hand act-in-rotation.

Composer Jean-François Côté has assembled an assortment of talented musicians for this CD, using a wide array of vocal talents and worldly instruments including the Oud, Duduk and Sitar. Fans may recognize Côté as the former bandleader for both Mystère and "O". He went on to compose new tracks for Corteo as a guest composer (including Bouncing Beds, Juggling and Paradise), which laid the groundwork for his talents to be tapped for Koozå. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the musicians who perform that music night after night. Besides the main vocalists (Theresa Bailey, Tara Baswani and Cinda RamSeur), it does not appear that any of the tour musicians perform on the CD, with the exception of James Lutz (Trombone, Bass Trombone, Soloist) and Mireille Marchal (Percussion, Human Whistle, Toy Trumpet). This is a shame, but not totally unexpected -- since Zumanity, many of the CDs do not feature the actual show band.

The talented musicians you will find on the CD are: Richard Beaudet (Tenor Saxophone), Jocelyn Couture (Trumpet), Jean Frechette (Baritone Saxophone), Guy Pelletier (Flute, Piccolo), Michel Dubeau (Duduk), Guy Dubuc (Piano, Keyboards, Vibes), Rémy Malo (Bass, Double Bass), Marc Lessard (Bass, Percussion, Drums), Benoît Groulx (Conductor), Ligia Paquin (Viola), Pierre Beaudr (Trombone, Euphonium), Sheila Hannigan (Cello), Caroline Lizotte (Harp), Carla Antoun (Cello), Marie Josée Arpin (Violin), Yukari Cousineau (Viola), Pascale Gagnon (Violin), Uwe Neumann (Sitar), Ismail Hakki Fencioglu (Oud) , Mark Simons (Clarinet) and Shen Qui (Ehru)

And some of those names are recognizable from other Cirque du Soleil projects, such as: Richard Beaudet (who appeared on Alegría and Saltimbanco 2005 CD), Jocelyn Couture (Alegría), Guy Palletier (Corteo), Michel Dubeau (Saltimbanco 2005), Benoît Groulx (Corteo), Kigia Paquin (Corteo, Zumanity), Pierre Beaudr (Corteo), Shelia Hannigan (Corteo), Caroline Lizotte (Corteo), Carla Antoun (KÀ, Alegría, Corteo, Quidam and Delirium), Pascale Gagnon (Corteo), and Ismail Hakki Fencioglu (Corteo).

Besides missing the live band, my only other complaint is that many of the tracks seem over-produced. There's "inspired by" (like Varekai and to some extent Corteo) and then there's taking tracks in a totally different musical direction. The latter is what we get here. This is achieved by adding instrumentation that was not originally part of the song's live construct or added to "punch up" what was otherwise a great, basic track all on its own.

For example, using Erhu, a two-stringed instrument of Chinese origin, in front of "Diables" and in other tracks, while haunting and beautiful, takes away the initial mystique of the track when heard live. Slowing down the pace of "L'Innocent" is another example, although it is one of my favorite tracks from the CD. I must also admit that I enjoy the funkilicious entrance to "Superstar I" - it makes me think of the theme of the movie "Shaft" every single time! The magnificent piano chords accompanying the Balancing on Chairs segment - "Don't be Afraid" - is another personal favorite. However, I can't understand the reasoning behind using Michael Halvarson (PickPocket) as a vocalist for the Skeleton Dance song ("KOOZÅ DANCE") -- what is up with that?

The music to Koozå is not only available on CD, but was also simultaneously released electronically via iTMS (Apple's iTunes store) and Amazon Downloads, so there are a variety of avenues for fans to find, purchase and collect this music.

And if the music alone isn't a good enough reason to rush out and purchase the actual CD, perhaps the fact that the package turns into a neat koza (the Sanskrit word meaning "box," "chest" or "treasure," for which the show was named) for you to display your CD in will motivate you. Now that's a cool feature!

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Alternate Visuals

{ Original Cover }

Edition Info

Cirque du Soleil Musique {2004+}
Released: May 8, 2008

• Catalog #: CDSMCD 10028-2
• UPC: 8-43277-01658-5