Jazz Articles about Bill Saurman

About Bill Saurman

Album Review

The Len Pierro Jazz Orchestra: As I Was Saying

Read "As I Was Saying" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 17, 2025

Remember the good old days before high-tech hardware and software seized control and the country's leading big bands were recorded in a studio or in concert employing a wide dynamic range with no overdubs or splices to enhance the performance? Composer and arranger Len Pierro does, which is why he planned As I Was Saying, the second album with his Philadelphia-based Jazz Orchestra, to mirror those classic recordings by the likes of Woody Herman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich ...

Album Review

Temple University Jazz Band: Without You, No Me

Read "Without You, No Me" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 28, 2021

When his friend, colleague, mentor and confidante Jimmy Heath died in January 2020, trumpeter Terell Stafford's first impulse was to find a way to honor and remember the renowned Philadelphia-born saxophonist. As Stafford is director of the Temple University Jazz Band, also in Philadelphia, an obvious way would be to record a tribute album, which Stafford set about preparing. And then the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, scuttling those plans and most others on the drawing board. The band ...