Jazz Articles

The Jan Kaspersen Special Occasion Band: Memo to the Moon

by Jack Bowers
February 2, 2003

Unfamiliar as I was with Jan Kaspersen, I hardly knew what to expect from a twelve-piece big band led by a Danish pianist who has studied jazz theory with George Russell, analyzed and recorded the music of classical composer Erik Satie, drafted compositions for Pierre Dorgé’s cutting-edge New Jungle Orchestra and led his own group under the name “Space and Rhythm Jazz.” Bracing for the worst, the last thing I thought I’d hear as the opening selection, “Down, Up and ...