Alexis Cole: Sky Blossom (Zoho)
This big-band-bolstered set from ace vocalist Alexis Cole leans on the literal with its subtitle: Songs from My Tour of Duty. In 2009, following a … Read More “Alexis Cole: Sky Blossom (Zoho)”
This big-band-bolstered set from ace vocalist Alexis Cole leans on the literal with its subtitle: Songs from My Tour of Duty. In 2009, following a … Read More “Alexis Cole: Sky Blossom (Zoho)”
This year’s UNLV project spotlights Jazz Ensemble 1, the program’s premier big band, on disc one, while disc two showcases eight smaller, varied jazz combos. … Read More “University of Nevada-Las Vegas Jazz and Commercial Music Program: Looking Up (Vegas)”
Having come under the tutelage of Art Blakey (a.k.a. Buhaina, or “Bu” for short), drummer Ralph Peterson knows a thing or two about the value … Read More “Ralph Peterson’s GenNext Big Band: I Remember Bu: Alive Vol. 4 @ Scullers Featuring Donald Harrison (Onyx) “
Here’s proof that less can be more, with a range as broad as a full-blown big band yet retaining the subtleties and expanded solos of a much smaller unit. That approach works well for Terry Promane’s University of Toronto 12tet. On its latest project, the band puts a modern spin on a few jazz classics and digs into both originals and some newer pieces. Seven of the nine tracks were written or, more often, arranged by 12tet members and other undergrad and grad students in U of T’s composing/arranging segment.
Ben Edgecombe arranged Cedar Walton’s “Bolivia,” on which the sprightly piano work of Noah Franche-Nolan sets up a lush ensemble horn segment and alto sax solo from Brandon Tee. Nathaniel Jenkins’ chart for Tom Harrell’s soaring ballad “Sail Away” showcases trumpeter Michael Henley and guitarist Julius Clegg. The band’s version of “Perdido” gets a similar update, featuring tenor Kieran Murphy and trumpeter Kaelin Murply (no relation). Tenor player John Nicholson wrote and arranged “Eventide,” which has a beautiful panoramic feel. Promane arranged U of T faculty member Mike Murley’s “Extra Time” as a feature for the 12tet’s horn players, which segues into a funky piano section.
Read More “University of Toronto 12tet: When Day Slips Into Night (U of T Jazz)”
Brazilian big-band music is relatively rare, at least in comparison with its Afro-Cuban and—obviously—swing kin. With Encontros – Orquestra Atlantica, pianist and composer Antonio Adolfo … Read More “Antonio Adolfo: Encontros – Orquestra Atlantica (AAM)”
The big Orrin Evans news of the past year has, undoubtedly, been the pianist’s induction into the Bad Plus following the decision of that trio’s … Read More “Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Presence (Smoke Sessions)”
Drummer Bobby Sanabria was born in the South Bronx in 1957, the same year West Side Story opened on Broadway. As a native New Yorker … Read More “Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band: West Side Story Reimagined (Jazzheads)”
Holy bebop, Batman! Jeff Rupert, director of the University of Central Florida Flying Horse Big Band, decided to turn the school’s premier student ensemble loose … Read More “UCF Flying Horse Big Band: The Bat Swings (Flying Horse)”
In retrospect it’s easy to hear the evolution from Miles Davis’ mid-’60s albums to In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and On the Corner. Still, … Read More “Charles Pillow Large Ensemble: Electric Miles (MAMA)”
This Oklahoma State University big-band project is an intense collaboration with trombonist Michael Dease, whose straight-ahead sound and bubbling font of musical ideas can bring … Read More “OSU Jazz Orchestra: Solid Gold (OSU Jazz Studies)”