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Metropolitan Gospel Big Band at Restoration Temple
by Ernest Barteldes
Metropolitan Gospel Big Band Temple of Restoration October 18, 2014 Brooklyn, NY On the CD release event for their debut album Leaning On The Everlasting Arms (Self-Produced, 2014), the sixteen-piece band led by tenor saxophonist Duke Guillaume kicked off the set with George Bennard's classic hymn “The Old Rugged Cross," played with a blues-inflected, mid-tempo feel. The bandleader was the first to take a solo, improvising fluently with long notes. The ensemble ...
Continue ReadingMetropolitan Gospel Big Band: Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
by Ernest Barteldes
On the debut recording of the Metropolitan Gospel Big Band (led by saxophonist Duke Guillaume, the ensemble presents a collection of Gospel numbers arranged for big band format. The disc opens with “Nothing But The Blood," an up-tempo number that serves as introduction to the group and also features some individual improvised moments from the brass section. The tune is followed by “He's Everything To Me," a more straight-ahead tune featuring a fluid tenor sax solo. Among the ...
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