Taking flight from convention

Maria Schneider draws on film scores, Protestant hymns, and Latin music in her compositions. (jimmy and dena katz)

On Saturday, the Maria Schneider Orchestra made its long-overdue Boston debut at the Berklee Performance Center. Schneider, 46, has been widely considered among the most significant bandleaders and composers in jazz for over a decade. She apprenticed with the great arrangers Bob Brookmeyer and Gil Evans, and the latter's lambent clouds of harmony are evident in her writing. Yet her compositions draw less from the traditional materials of jazz than from film scores, Protestant hymns, and Latin music.

A Schneider composition rarely swings. Instead, it flows, glides, or soars. Her approach is atmospheric rather than melodic. There's a wide-screen scale to much of her writing, though she can also frame a soloist's close-up just right.

The 18-piece orchestra opened with Schneider's bucolic "Green Piece." It began quietly with flutes and muted trumpets, then a swelling, brassy fanfare ushered in Scott Robinson's baritone saxophone solo, backed by the impressive rhythm team of pianist Frank Kimbrough, guitarist John Hart, bassist Joe Martin, and drummer Ted Poor. As Robinson ascended in pitch and his tone became rougher, the reeds and brass returned to buoy his climax.

Suddenly, Kimbrough's piano was alone. With a free-flowing rhythm, he built to harp-like arpeggios, peppered with bluesy dissonances. The rhythm section returned, then the entire ensemble slowly crescendoed for the big finish.

The rest of the evening's numbers followed a similar pattern. Schneider's conducting was animated and dance-like. Poor's fine drumming provided the top-heavy ensemble with needed lift.

"Choro Dançado" was Schneider's bow to choro, a Brazilian precursor of samba marked by its elegant syncopation. Accordionist Will Holshouser added a taste of tango to the mix. Rich Perry's tenor saxophone solo was languid and lucid. The piece finished with a marvelous, dark, march-like passage featuring intertwining brass and reed lines.

"Cerulean Skies" presented a story of avian migration. The incorporation of actual birdcalls was a kitschy touch, but Donny McCaslin's insinuating, bluesy tenor saxophone solo brought a welcome earthiness to the airy proceedings. The hymn-like "Sky Blue," Schneider's elegy for a friend, featured Steve Wilson's touching soprano saxophone solo. The final number, "Hang Gliding" was perhaps one too many evocations of the sky and flight.

Schneider introduced the encore by saying, "I bet you're ready for something you can hum." The standard "My Ideal," in an arrangement dating back to her student days, provided the evening's first extended taste of straightforward swing, with Kenny Rampton's mellow, bop-inflected flugelhorn solo the cherry on top.