Transcendence and Thrills From a Great Florida Big Band
One of the best large jazz ensembles in the country hails from Florida. So it’s possible that Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge‘s new album Within Us – streaming at Spotify – is the first big band album to...
View ArticleAn Epically Genre-Smashing, Deliciously Unpredictable Album From Charlotte Greve
Over the years there have been a ton of jazz records made with a string section, or even an orchestra. But jazz with a choir? Has anyone ever made a jazz album with a choir? Saxophonist/singer...
View ArticleVivid, Lush, Cinematic Big Band Jazz From Lawrence Sieberth
Pianist Lawrence Sieberth‘s big band album Musique Visuelle – which hasn’t hit the web yet – is aptly titled. There’s a cinematic sweep and an abundance of vivid narrative in his majestic compositions...
View ArticleA Colorfully Melodic Big Band Debut by the Sam Pilnick Nonet
If you want to make a big splash with your debut album, you put as many players on it as you can. Maybe you leave no doubt about where the record is going by opening with a nine-minute song which...
View ArticleA State-of-the-Art, Majestic Big Band Suite From the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
The world is in a very strange place right now, and some of the least likely candidates are doing herculean work just about everywhere you turn. So anyone who might be surprised that some of this era’s...
View ArticleAn Inspired, Dynamic Live Debut Album by the Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band
Drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.’s debut album with his big band, Soul Conversations – streaming at Spotify – sounds like one of those exuberant field recordings that jazz clubs love to play before shows....
View ArticleA Blazing Big Band Album and a Low-Key Trio Show From Pianist Steven Feifke
If you’re interested in checking out a musician in an intimate setting, why would you want to listen to his big band album? Because it shows how far he can take an idea and keep it interesting. Steven...
View ArticleA Vividly Symphonic, Epic Big Band Album and a Chinatown Gig From Pianist...
Pianist Manuel Valera has been a reliably tuneful fixture on the New York jazz stage, best known for his monthly residency with his New Cuban Express at Terraza 7, which ran for years until live music...
View ArticlePredictive Programming For the Future of Big Band Jazz From the MSM Jazz...
Last night at Manhattan School of Music, the MSM Jazz Orchestra and a slightly smaller ten-piece unit played an all-Jim McNeely program worthy of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the group the composer...
View ArticleEpic, Vivid Spanish-Tinged Big Band Jazz and a Joe’s Pub Show From Emilio Solla
Pianist Emilio Solla writes picturesque, symphonic, state-of-the-art big band jazz that draws on both tango and Spanish Caribbean traditions but transcends both. For those who might be interested in...
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