Florian Ross/WDR Big Band: Plans & Drawers

While Plans & Drawers may seem an odd name for an album of big-band jazz, the fact is that German-born composer and arranger Florian Ross had no "plans" to record before the opportunity arose to produce a second album with his home country's world-class WDR Big Band Cologne, and many of his compositions had been consigned to "drawers" in his studio. Once the agreement was finalized, Ross reopened those drawers, plans were made, and Plans and Drawers was recorded in January 2025.

As the charts had been stored with little or no thought given to ever recording them, they span a wide range of years. The earliest, "ELD1," was written in 1992, when Ross was barely twenty years old; the most recent, "Think Out Loud," was completed in 2024. One even bears the title "1988." Still and all, every one of them boasts the indelible imprint of Ross's exceptional talent and ingenuity as a composer and arranger. Not only does Ross use every shade and nuance in the big-band palette to paint his bright and handsome musical portraits, his charts swing in the finest tradition of Count Basie, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and other masters of the big-band genre. He even uses unison hand-clapping to animate the buoyant and lyrical "ELD1."

Although an inventive solo or more enhances every number, Ross writes with the entire orchestra in mind, a fortuitous approach, as the WDR is clearly one of the world's most skillful jazz ensembles, easily weaving its way through even the most complex and rigorous charts without ever dropping a stitch. And while Ross's compositions may seem deceptively simple, most require as much symmetry and skill as any band can muster. The WDR passes every test with room to spare.

That in itself wouldn't be nearly enough if Ross's charts were less than handsome and inspiring, which certainly is not the case here. From the sleek and swinging opener, "Catania," to the album's ardent finale (and lone standard), "Body & Soul," and everything in between, Ross ensnares the ear and enlivens the heart, leaving the listener in awe of his remarkable talent and uncommon insight. While soloists are not named, it is a pretty sure bet they include trumpeters Andy Haderer and Ruud Breuls, alto saxophonist Johan Horlen and tenor Paul Heller along with baritone saxophonist Jens Neufang, trombonist Ludwig Nuss, guitarist Hanno Busch, pianist/organist Billy Test and drummer Hans Dekker.

Ross's plans, as it turns out, were more than worthwhile, while his studio drawers were fairly bursting with sublime and impressive compositions and arrangements patiently waiting to be heard and appreciated. Fortunately, those Plans & Drawers are no longer hidden away but accessible to jazz enthusiasts everywhere thanks to this memorable collaboration between Ross and the stellar WDR Big Band Cologne.