Jazz Articles about Andy Farber

About Andy Farber

Album Review

Andy Farber and His Orchestra: Early Blue Evening

Read "Early Blue Evening" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 5, 2021

Saxophonist Andy Farber's New York-based orchestra came together and cut its teeth as the onstage band for three hundred performances of After Midnight, a Broadway revue that paid tribute to Jazz Age nightclub luminaries from Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie to Harold Arlen, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh. As one might presume from the orchestra's provenance, echoes of Ellington and Basie can readily be discerned on its first recording since After Midnight closed in 2014--but Farber, who wrote ...

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Album Review

Andy Farber and his Orchestra: This Could Be the Start of Something Big

Read "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
November 13, 2010

Composer Andy Farber writes musical scores for television commercials and movies, but This Could Be The Start of Something Big is Farber's big band debut, showcasing his talents as a multi-reed musician and bandleader. Recorded in late 2009, after a two-year stint playing every Sunday evenings at New York's famed Birdland, the album features an eighteen-piece orchestra with legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks and veteran alto saxophonist Jerry Dodgion as special guests. Providing all of the arrangements, Farber produces an explosive ...

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Album Review

Andy Farber and His Orchestra: This Could Be the Start of Something Big

Read "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
November 12, 2010

It's like strutting down memory lane. Andy Farber and His Orchestra present 14 big band pieces with This Could Be the Start of Something Big. A product of Long Island, Farber grew up listening to Art Blakey and Miles Davis. He began attending jazz workshops at the age of 10 and developed into a multifaceted woodwinds player. On this outing, he plays alto, tenor and baritone saxophones and flute. The ensemble features a full-size horn section and a ...

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Album Review

Andy Farber and his Orchestra: This Could Be The Start Of Something Big

Read "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
November 1, 2010

Whatever happened to big bands that swing? While the big bands of yesteryear provided music for dancing and a healthy appreciation for swinging soloists and hip arrangements, that isn't the case today. Many of the most popular--and critically acclaimed--large ensembles in modern times are winning fans with highbrow conceptualism and compositions that, as brilliant as they are, won't have anybody dancing anytime soon. Fortunately, a few venues in New York City are still happy to house some ...

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Album Review

Andy Farber and His Orchestra: This Could Be The Start Of Something Big

Read "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
October 30, 2010

The sight and sound of one of the classic big bands in full flight must have been something to behold. For those fans of big band jazz who never got to experience such a thing, as well as for those who did and remember it fondly, Andy Farber And His Orchestra bring the sound back with a bang on This Could Be The Start Of Something Big. Saxophonist Farber arranged and conducted all of the tunes, as ...

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Take Five With...

Take Five With Andy Farber

by AAJ Staff
October 25, 2010

Meet Andy Farber:Andy Farber is an award-winning jazz composer, arranger and saxophonist and has spent years performing with the likes of Jon Hendricks and Wynton Marsalis. Since 1994, Farber has been part of the Jazz @ Lincoln Center stable of writers and performers. Through J@LC, Farber has toured with the J@LC Orchestra, written originals compositions and arrangements and been a guest artistic director. Farber has written arrangements for people like Wynton Marsalis, Jon Hendricks, Shirley ...