Bob Mintzer has the knack. Whether he developed it during his brief association with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, his two years with the Buddy Rich Big Band, or his time with Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth Big Band is unclear. What is certain, however, is that the great tenor saxophonist has continued to perfect his instincts for orchestration and counterpoint over the years. With Soundscapes, the maestro now returns as leader of the WDR Big Band with ten newly arranged pieces. "At WDR, there is, after all, a tradition that the chief conductor implements a project of his own writing at some point during his tenure," he explains. "So I pulled together some of the things I've written for the band over the last five years, as well as a number of brand new numbers, for this recording.