Jazz Articles about Jordan Pettay

About Jordan Pettay

Album Review

Eyal Vilner Big Band: Swingin' Uptown

Read "Swingin' Uptown" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
September 6, 2024

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 ...

Album Review

Eyal Vilner Big Band: The Jam!

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 2022

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! ...