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The Len Pierro Jazz Orchestra: As I Was Saying
by Jack Bowers
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 ...
Continue ReadingJim Levendis: The Big Band Project
by Jack Bowers
Jim Levendis knew that time was running out. In his mid-seventies, the veteran Philadelphia-area trumpeter and educator had contracted ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), the effects of which were rapidly sapping his energy and ability to function. As the disease progressed, Levendis confided in Len Pierro, a band mate in the Ward Marston band, that there was one thing he would dearly love to do while he was still able: record some of the big-band arrangements he had written over the ...
Continue ReadingUniversity of the Arts “Z” Big Band: Jumpin’ at the Monterey Jazz Festival
by Victor L. Schermer
Umiversity of the Arts “Z" Big Band Monterey Jazz Festival Monterey, CA September 17, 2017 [This article is a follow-up to the review of the “Z" Band Reception and Kickoff Concert in Philadelphia on September 7. If you want to know a little more about the band, you can check out that review-Eds.] The famed Monterey Jazz Festival, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is the longest-running jazz festival ...
Continue ReadingThe University of the Arts “Z” Big Band: Monterey, Here We Come!
by Victor L. Schermer
UArts “Z" Big Band Reception and Kickoff Concert Kaplan Auditorium University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA September 7, 2017 They were underdogs, but they gave it their best shot. Then they shocked themselves and everyone else by tying for first place with the UNLV student ensemble in the Monterey Jazz Festival College Big Band Competition! They won out over approximately 600 bands, many of them more well-known, bands ...
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