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Eyal Vilner Big Band: Swingin' Uptown
by Jack Bowers
Even though he was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, composer, saxophonist and educator Eyal Vilner is well-versed in the origins and history of American jazz, especially as they pertain to the Swing Era, big bands and the largely black jazz experience in Harlem and elsewhere. Those interests converge on Swingin' Uptown, on which Vilner's excellent big band swings its way through sixteen impressive charts, several of which were inspired by Harlem's remarkble jazz narrative. Besides ...
Continue ReadingThe Jazz Defenders, Joe Henderson, Tim Lin & Eyal Vilner
by Joe Dimino
Straight from the UK, we begin the 858th Episode of Neon Jazz with The Jazz Defenders with material off their 2024 album Memory in Motion. In honor of their influences, we move into a recent reissue of Horace Silver's LP Late Night. From there, we hear new music from Julieta Eugenio, Flávio Silva and Lenny Marcus and reissues from legends Joe Henderson and Cannonball Adderley. There is also a great new album from the late Chick Corea and Béla Fleck. ...
Continue ReadingEyal Vilner Big Band: The Jam!
by Jack Bowers
Simply leading a big band in 2022 is cause for celebration. Leading a big band as sharp and talented as Eyal Vilner's New York- based ensemble is cause for far more than that. Vilner, an Israeli-born composer, arranger and woodwind specialist, formed the band in 2008, one year after arriving in New York City. He has been busy since then shaping its identity and refining its style, and his persistence pays off big-time on the band's second album, The Jam! ...
Continue ReadingEyal Vilner Big Band: Swing Out!
by Jack Bowers
Eyal Vilner's fourth album as leader of his impressive New York-based big band is a throwback to the kind of concert dates audiences no doubt derived great pleasure from during the storied Big-Band Era well over half a century ago when groups not far removed from this one in spirit traveled cross-country by bus, car or train to ply their trade in nightclubs, concert halls, schools and any other accessible venue. Vilner spices the menu with blues, ballads, boogie and ...
Continue ReadingEyal Vilner Big Band: Hanukkah
by Jack Bowers
Although a goodly number of seasonal big-band albums have passed through these portals over the years, this is the first one to our recollection devoted to Hanukkah, the eight-day-long festival of lights that commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the time of a successful Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire. As leader Eyal Vilner was born in Tel Aviv before relocating to the States and making New York his home, that is hardly surprising. Also unsurprising ...
Continue ReadingEyal Vilner Big Band: Almost Sunrise
by Jack Bowers
Suddenly, it seems, the state of Israel has become a focal point and incubator for contemporary jazz. A new wave of world-class musicians led by the three Cohens (not to be confused with Broadway's three Cohans) has crossed the ocean to plant the Israeli flag firmly in the midst of what was once considered an unassailable American stronghold. Among the more recent and impressive arrivals is Eyal Vilner, a composer / arranger / saxophonist from Tel Aviv who came here ...
Continue ReadingEyal Vilner Big Band: Introducing The Eyal Vilner Big Band
by Hrayr Attarian
Most contemporary big band music is either of the heavily arranged, progressive jazz variety or the light-swing, Glenn Miller orchestral type played mainly for the benefit of nostalgic dancers. It is therefore refreshing to hear an ensemble that embraces the exuberance of mid-20th Century large groups and simultaneously delivers a bop-ish and elaborate sound. Introducing the Eyal Vilner Big Band opens with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's boisterous “Woody'N You." The musicians, driven by Yonathan Rosen's propulsive drumming, weave ...
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