Jazz Articles about Andrew Janak

About Andrew Janak

Album Review

Socrates Garcia Latin Jazz Orchestra: Shadows of Tomorrow

Read "Shadows of Tomorrow" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
September 11, 2025

Do not let the word “Latin" in front of the Socrates Garcia Jazz Orchestra's name sway you. Shadows of Tomorrow is bright and spirited contemporary jazz albeit with a southerly twist. The salute to Latin America is for the most part rhythmic; everything else leans resolutely toward el norte, and the orchestra (which is actually based in Colorado, where Garcia teaches at the University of Northern Colorado) lends its considerable weight and savvy to every one of the leader's half-dozen ...

Album Review

David Caffey Jazz Orchestra: At the Edge of Spring

Read "At the Edge of Spring" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 13, 2025

With his album, At the Edge of Spring, composer and arranger David Caffey and his Colorado-based Jazz Orchestra not only defy the widely-held belief that big bands are dead, they emphatically blow that axium out of the water. This is an ensemble with no discernible weaknesses, as proficient and powerful as any that have come before it or are likely to follow. To verify that impression, you need only couple your ears with an open mind. As ...

Album Review

Andrew Janak: Borrowed Time

Read "Borrowed Time" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
August 15, 2017

Although Lincoln, Nebraska isn't yet ready to announce itself as a bona fide jazz mecca, it is home base for saxophonist Andrew Janak, who recently returned to his alma mater the University of Nebraska to pursue a doctoral degree in music after spending some time honing his craft in Chicago. Borrowed Time is his debut record with his group Wind Armada, a septet with which he performed a good deal while in Chicago via weekly gigs at Phyllis' Musical Inn ...