Concert in the Garden
Concert in the Garden is the fourth studio album by American jazz composer Maria Schneider. It was released in 2004 by ArtistShare and was recorded March 8–11, 2004 at Avatar Studio in New York City. The album runs 58 minutes and 13 seconds and was produced by Maria Schneider.
It won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2005. In 2019, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
Schneider had delayed this release because recording large groups is expensive. Her previous three albums were Grammy-nominated, with Allégresse released in 2000, four years earlier.
Musically, Concert in the Garden is more classical in feel than previous work, with influences from Brazilian, Spanish, and flamenco music.
Reception was positive overall. JazzTimes praised parts like "Three Romances" and "Buleria, Solea y Rumba," while noting the title track’s solos could be stronger. The Penguin Guide to Jazz gave it four stars and included it in its Core Collection, calling it the great achievement of her career so far, though it viewed the title track as only a slight disappointment.
The National Recording Registry entry notes that the album’s release on ArtistShare made it a pioneer in music distribution, as the first fan-funded project and the first Grammy-winning album to be sold on the Internet, giving artists more control and new ways to reach fans.
All tracks are written by Maria Schneider.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:16 (CET).