Drummer Chad Rager’s “Modern Big Band” is actually an octet, albeit cast in the idiom of Rager idol Buddy Rich. Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, the little big band is, to put a good face on things, spirited. However, the use of electric bass flattens the rhythm section’s dynamic and expressive range. Along with standards like “Straight No Chaser” and “Sing, Sing, Sing,” there are tunes with cutesy titles like “Squid Cakes” and “Pyramid of Pachyderms.”
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