Big Band with an infectious zeal is what bandleader and trumpet player Eddie Allen delivers in Groove’s Mood from his 16-piece orchestra The Aggregation. The music will beckon you onto the dance floor and entice you to move along to its hip shaking grooves from the samba-fueled “Brasilia” to the swing jazz jubilance of the title track. The album creates a world of fantasy for the listeners where good cheer reigns supreme and life has only enjoyment to offer.

The sensual, cat-like strut of the horn section in “Wade In The Water” has a classic ‘50s swing-jazz chassis covered in glittery trumpet swirls. The band’s soul-jazz rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” sung by Latanya Hall has Latin overtones with Bruce Barth’s piano keys seaming scintillating stitches into the melodic patterns. The music moves like it is alive and invites the listener to join in the merriment. The album takes it down a few notches with the torchlight silhouettes streaking across “Tenderly” and the intimate ambience projected in “Sky Dive.” The album slips into a ballroom swing set in “The Soulful Mister Timmons” with plenty of horns splashing vivaciously before finalizing the album with the band’s satiny interpretation of Stevie Wonder’s “Mon Cherie Amour” featuring once again Latanya Hall on vocals, and the band’s instrumental version of Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.”

Produced by Eddie Allen, Groove’s Mood is groovalicious fraught with Big Band tunes that will have audiences dancing in the aisles. Allen’s experiences in playing, arranging and composing for jazz, R&B/pop, Latin ensembles, and Broadway shows is evident and enable Groove’s Mood to coax Big Band off the shelf of sounding outdated and into the modern age.

Photo by Matt Jorgensen