Ensemble 9

Ensemble 9: Children of the Night

by Jack Bowers
March 1, 2000

Those who know about and appreciate my enduring love for big–band Jazz will apprehend the import when I say that listening to trumpeter Rob Parton’s Chicago–based nonet, Ensemble 9, is the next best thing. Indeed, there are times when Ensemble 9 (two trumpets, trombone, three saxophones and rhythm) sounds remarkably akin to a fully–stocked big band, thanks to superlative charts by Parton, Paul McKee, Jim Gailloreto, Kirk Garrison, Cliff Colnot and Gordon Goodwin. Besides his well–earned stature as one of ...