Jazz Articles about The Ben-Oni Orchestra

The Ben-Oni Orchestra: Inner City Sounds Of The Ben-Oni Orchestra

by Jack Bowers
October 1, 2006

As one can see from the playlist on this bare-bones recording by the Ben-Oni Orchestra, the California-based ensemble is essentially a repertory band whose focal point is the music of Ellington, Basie, Fletcher Henderson and other Swing Era icons. Half of the ten selections were written by Ellington and/or Billy Strayhorn, another one ("Things Ain't What They Used to Be ) by Mercer Ellington. Two--Frank Foster's “Shiny Stockings, the standard “April in Paris --were (and perhaps are) staples in the ...