Jazz Articles about Rob Parton

Rob Parton: Rob Parton Quartet

by Edward Blanco
June 16, 2009

Chicago trumpeter Rob Parton has been leading his phenomenal JAZZTECH Big Band for the better part of two decades now, but it was four years of quartet gigs at the Catch 35 Restaurant and Club in Chicago that inspired Rob Parton Quartet. Parton began performing at the club in 2005 with his favorite longtime drummer Bob Rummage and pianist Laurence Hobgood, who has since relocated to New York and been replaced by Steve Million. The quartet now features Million, Rummage ...

Rob Parton's JazzTech Big Band: Just One of Those Things

by Jack Bowers
January 12, 2008

There aren't many big bands that are as consistently impressive in a studio as they are in person. Here's one that is--trumpeter Rob Parton's strapping, Chicago-based JazzTech Big Band. Parton's secret? It's not hard to comprehend. Enlist the best players one can find, give them bright and elaborate charts to sink their chops into, then stand aside and let 'em roar.

Except Parton does much more than stand aside. He also quarterbacks the ensemble's superlative trumpet section and produces splendid ...

Rob Parton's JAZZTECH Big Band: Just One of Those Things

by Edward Blanco
December 30, 2007

Just One of Those Things is, after only one captivating listen, anything but just another “one of those big bands. The seventh album by trumpeter Rob Parton's Chicago-based orchestra and, perhaps, the best one yet, this is truly a gem of an album that sparkles with every track. Quite a statement to swallow if one is familiar with the discography of the JAZZTECH Big Band and, in particular, with their last blue ribbon release, Two Different Days (Seabreeze, 2004), which, ...

Rob Parton's JazzTech Big Band: Two Different Days

by Jack Bowers
November 28, 2004

Two Different Days --and one terrific band. This is the sixth album recorded by trumpeter Rob Parton's cyclonic ensemble from the Windy City, and while every one of them has been spectacular in its own way, this one may well earn the blue ribbon as best in show.

Simply put, this is a band that has everything--scrupulous section work, stalwart soloists and a superb rhythm section spearheaded by Chicago's premier big band drummer, Bob Rummage. But even though the competition ...

Rob Parton's Jazztech Big Band: Two Different Days

by Jim Santella
November 23, 2004

As Associate Professor of Trumpet and Chairman of Jazz Studies for the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University, Rob Parton leads a swingin' big band in the tradition of Count Basie and like-minded organizations that have shown a hearty appreciation for straight-ahead pleasure.

His searing flugelhorn is featured on several swingers, and his trumpet solo on “Never Will I Marry" indicates that Parton feels what he teaches. Fluidly and seamlessly, he phrases his way through familiar ...