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Darcy James Argue's Secret Society

Darcy James Argue, “one of the top big band composers of our time”(Stereophile), is best known for Secret Society, an 18-piece group “renowned in the jazz world” (New York Times). Argue brings an outwardly anachronistic ensemble into the 21st century through his “ability to combine his love of jazz’s past with more contemporary sonics” and is celebrated as “a syncretic creator who avoids obvious imitation” (Pitchfork).

Acclaimed as an “innovative composer, arranger, and big band leader” by The New Yorker, Argue’s accolades include multiple GRAMMY nominations and a Latin GRAMMY Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Doris Duke Artist Award, and countless commissions and fellowships. His prescient 2016 Real Enemies, an album-length exploration of the politics of paranoia, was named one of the 20 best jazz albums of the decade by Stereogum. Like Real Enemies, Argue’s previous recordings — his debut Infernal Machines and his follow-up, Brooklyn Babylon — were nominated for both GRAMMY and JUNO awards.

The long-awaited fourth Secret Society album, Dynamic Maximum Tension, coming in 2023, is named after the three words that inventor and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller combined to form his personal brand: “Dymaxion” — a term reflecting Bucky’s desire to get the most out of his materials, the utopian vision of his designs, and his quest to improve the pattern of daily life. In composing the music for this recording, Argue found optimism and creative renewal in Fuller’s extraordinary prescience as an early proponent of wind and wave power, and in his timelessly futuristic designs inspired by the geometry of the natural world.

Argue’s affinity for blurring genres and deftly weaving sociopolitical ideas into ambitious, culturally resonant work is exemplified in the “stunningly original” (Wall Street Journal) song cycle Ogresse, a collaboration with GRAMMY-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, and in the multimedia performance Real Enemies, a “breathtaking” (JazzNu) production co-created with writer-director Isaac Butler and filmmaker Peter Nigrini that premiered in 2015 at the BAM Next Wave Festival.

Secret Society maintains a busy touring schedule, with European, Canadian, and South American tours, global festival performances, and five appearances at the legendary Newport Jazz Festival. In addition to Secret Society, Argue has toured with the Danish Radio Big Band, the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, and the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra. He was featured in the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos’ international Jazz Composers Forum and has led performances of his music by the WDR Big Band, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, The Hard Rubber Orchestra, Clasijazz Big Band Pro, and the West Point Jazz Knights.

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Live Review

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at The Jazz Gallery

Read "Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at The Jazz Gallery" reviewed by Paul Reynolds


Darcy James Argue's Secret Society Jazz Gallery New York, NYJanuary 12, 2024 One of last year's most acclaimed jazz albums became an early contender for a standout show of 2024 when Darcy James Argue brought his 20-piece Secret Society to Manhattan's cozy Jazz Gallery to showcase Dynamic Maximum Tension. The hourlong New York performance was as original and delightfully unpredictable as everything the Canadian-born composer/conductor touches. The recording--released in the fall, nominated for ...

Album Review

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: Dynamic Maximum Tension

Read "Dynamic Maximum Tension" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Precursore nel 2009 (con l'innovativo Infernal Machines) del nuovo rinascimento orchestrale nel jazz, Darcy James Argue approda all'etichetta Nonesuch e pubblica il nuovo album in studio: un doppio CD realizzato con i consueti partner della Secret Society più l'aggiunta della cantante Cecile McLorin Salvant e della violinista Sara Caswell. A differenza degli ultimi due dischi, Dynamic Maximum Tension non è un'opera multimediale ma conserva la spinta visionaria animata dalla costante riflessione socio-politica. Spinta che si traduce in ...

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Performance / Tour

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society Returns to Iridium September 22nd

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society Returns to Iridium September 22nd

Source: Improvised Communications

On Wednesday, September 22nd, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society will follow-up its highly regarded appearance at CareFusion Jazz Festival Newport with a two-set performance at Iridium Jazz Club in New York. This event, the 18-piece ensemble's second appearance at the venue and first gig in New York since its debut at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (pictured above) in June during CareFusion Jazz Festival New York, is part of a month-long big band series curated by trumpeter/composer David Weiss. Sets begin at ...

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Festival

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at Carefusion Jazz Festival Newport August 7th

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at Carefusion Jazz Festival Newport August 7th

Source: Improvised Communications

Two weeks from tomorrow, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society and special guest Bob Brookmeyer will perform on the Harbor Stage at CareFusion Jazz Festival Newport. “Mr. Wein asked if I might like to invite my compositional mentor, Bob Brookmeyer, to play a tune with us at Newport," recalls Argue, who just topped the Big Band Rising Star, Composer Rising Star and Arranger Rising Star categories in the DownBeat Critics Poll. “I ran the idea by Bob and he accepted, so ...

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Performance / Tour

Tonight: Darcy James Argue's Secret Society @ Galapagos 10 PM

Tonight: Darcy James Argue's Secret Society @ Galapagos 10 PM

Source: All About Jazz

Undiscovered Islands: Week One Tonight! 10:00 PM · Galapagos Art Space Darcy James Argue's Secret Society celebrating the release of Infernal Machines on New Amsterdam Records “Infernal Machines [is] a seven track marvel of imagination." --Time Out New York “a fully integrated sound world as current as it is timeless" --All About Jazz “one of the finest jazz records I've truly ever heard." --The Big City 7:00-9:30 - Kickoff party @ Rebar 10:00 Darcy James Argue's ...

Zhengtao Pan
composer / conductor

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