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Album Review

The Studio "A" Big Band: Da Blues Done Gotcha Again!

by Jack Bowers
September 1, 1999

Da Blues have seldom been as high–spirited or upbeat as they are on this breezy collection of blues–based compositions (six) and arrangements by Andy Clark performed by the largely anonymous but notably accomplished Studio “A” Big Band. Of the half–dozen compositions that aren’t his (and another that isn’t quite), Clark hasn’t gone for the obvious (except for W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues”), choosing instead Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” Aretha Franklin/Ted White’s “Think,” two traditional songs with spiritual themes, “Go ...

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Album Review

The Studio "A" Big Band: Uptown Stomp: A Tribute to the Big Bands

by Jack Bowers
September 1, 1999

Instead of merely rehashing songs that were popular during America’s Golden Age of big bands (mainly the ’30s and ’40s), the Studio “A” Big Band salutes its renowned forerunners by performing (mostly) new compositions by Don Sebesky, Howard Rowe, Dominick Spera, Lennie Niehaus and others “in the style of” those celebrated ensembles and others of more recent vintage. Rowe’s “Bugle Boogie Blues” nods toward Harry James, Sebesky’s “Slowly & Quietly Please,” Paul Clark’s “Down Time” and Niehaus’s “Steppin’ Out!” recall ...