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The Orchestra: New Skies
by Jack Bowers
In his liner notes to this second album by The Orchestra, renowned composer / arranger / trombonist Bob Brookmeyer writes that the Copenhagen-based ensemble “performs one of the rare functions in music -- they play as if they love the music and each other, and they give life to the written page, the key element in expression.” Brookmeyer then admits to a certain bias, as six of its members (including conductor / composer / trumpeter Jesper Riis and composer / ...
Continue ReadingThe Orchestra: Look Away Now
by Keiran Smalley
The dramatic role of soundtracks in movies is undisputed. Try to imagine Jaws without the scary “here comes a big shark” theme, or a horror film without the spooky church-organ or theremin. Very few movies, such as Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, have challenged this approach, proving that you can build tension without music. In contemporary music it has become somewhat vogue to produce soundtracks for imaginary movies. Judging by recent efforts, it seems that the exponents of ...
Continue ReadingThe Orchestra: Noxx
by Jack Bowers
For those who’d rather chew and digest their helpings of big–band Jazz slowly and carefully instead of gulping down a series of low–calorie riffs and shout choruses, here’s a lavish spread ably prepared by The Orchestra from beautiful Copenhagen, Denmark. The seven compositions, all by members of the band or director / tenor saxophonist Henrik Frisk, have enough meat on them to give anyone’s molars, incisors and bicuspids a vigorous workout. None is especially hard to swallow, nor are they ...
Continue ReadingDeep Energy Orchestra Unveils Expansive New Album The Science Of Sound On 7D Media Featuring Members Of Snarky Puppy, Kansas, King Crimson, The 4th Dimension, Shakti & Others
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - Keith James
Deep Energy Orchestra will release its third studio album, The Science of Sound, on October 24, 2025, through 7D Media. Conceived and led by composer, producer, and bassist Jason Everett (aka Mister E), the album represents a culmination of global collaboration, complex composition, and genre-defying instrumentation. Following the ensemble’s critically acclaimed albums Playing With Fire (2018) and The Return (2020), this new release builds on the orchestra’s distinctive fusion of Indian classical rhythms, progressive rock, jazz, funk, and orchestral textures. ...
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Burnin' Hot New Release - The Steven Oquendo Latin Jazz Orchestra - Live At Dizzy's
Source:
Scott Thompson Public Relations
For nearly 15 years the Steven Oquendo Latin Jazz Orchestra (SOLJO) has been one of the most precious hidden treasures of the Bronx, NYC’s majority Hispanic borough. SOLJO was founded by trumpeter-educator Oquendo, who has performed alongside Celia Cruz, Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Cuco Peña, Wynton Marsalis, & many others. It started as a rehearsal band comprised of a diverse assortment of some of NYC’s most talented musicians that soon found itself with a weekly residency in the Throgs Neck ...
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Fabia Mantwill Announces New Album IN.SIGHT, Featuring Her 32-piece Orchestra To Be Released On Groundup Music
Source:
Vivo Musique Internationale
Acclaimed composer, saxophonist, and conductor Fabia Mantwill Orchestra, together with GroundUP Music, announces the upcoming release of her new album, IN.SIGHT, featuring the Fabia Mantwill Orchestra, mixed both in stereo and Dolby Atmos. IN.SIGHT is set for release on GroundUP Music on July 25, 2025 across digital platforms and in physical formats (CD and LP). Berlin-basedFabia Mantwill’s musical vision blends influences from jazz, classical, and world music traditions into a large-scale orchestral work. Featuring original compositions for a 32-piece ensemble, ...
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Count Basie Orchestra Headlines The 2025 Pittsfield CityJazz Festival runs from April 24 to May 4
Source:
Ed Bride Associates
Berkshires Jazz, Inc. has announced the lineup for the nineteenth annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival, which runs from Apr. 24-May 4 in various locations throughout the city. Starting with an open jam session and ending with a jazz brunch, the events include the popular Jazz Crawl, the jazz prodigy concert, and headline concerts featuring the Count Basie Orchestra and vocalist Dawning Holmes with Grammy-winning pianist Jeff Holmes and special guest Avery Sharpe, plus a special evening with pianist Ben Kohn. The ...
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Backgrounder: Oscar Pettiford Orchestra (1956-57)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In February 1943, bassist Oscar Pettiford joined Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in a Chicago hotel room and jammed on Sweet Georgia Brown, which was captured on a private recording. This was before bebop was codified, and Parker and Gillespie were virtually unknown outside of the big bands they were in. By the end of 1943, Pettiford was in New York recording for Commodore behind tenor saxophone giant Coleman Hawkins. Rolling forward, Pettiford would become bebop's first major bassist in ...
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Guitarist Bobby Broom Joins Chicago Jazz Orchestra & Strings On 'More Amor,' Wes Montgomery Tribute CD Due March 28 From Chicago Jazz Orchestra Records
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
Acclaimed guitarist Bobby Broom is the featured soloist on a new recording by the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery, due for release March 28 on Chicago Jazz Orchestra Records. The brainchild of CJO musical director/conductor Jeff Lindberg and Broom, the recording began with a seed planted in 2004, after Broom’s successful Montgomery retrospective concert performance with the big band and strings. “I was thrilled when Jeff contacted me about finally getting to work on this ...
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Zildjians, Atlantic Records And Jazz: The Legacy Of Istanbul In America Features Jazz Orchestra And A Mehter Band On Thursday, February 27 In Boston
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
The Jazz Studies department and the Intercultural Institute at NEC present a full-day event on Thursday, February 27 which includes a workshop, presentations, and a panel discussion followed by a concert featuring the NEC Jazz Orchestra and a mehter band (so-called “Ottoman Janissary Band”). The 7:30 p.m. concert at Jordan Hall also features the world premiere of Echoes from a Forgotten Past by NEC faculty member Mehmet Ali Sanlikol. Guest performers include saxophonist Sam Newsome and drummer and faculty member ...
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New England Conservatory Jazz Orchestra Performs Music Of Toshiko Akiyoshi on December 5
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
The NEC Jazz Orchestra celebrates the 95th birthday of groundbreaking pianist, composer and bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi with a performance of her music on Thursday, December 5 in Jordan Hall starting at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature many of her most celebrated compositions including “After Mr. Teng,” “American Ballad,” “Long Yellow Road,” “Roadtime Shuffle,” “Soliloquy” and “Tuning Up.” Admission is free. For information visit necmusic.edu. During her log career, award-winning artist Akiyoshi has made essential contributions to big band jazz. ...
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Robin Simone Hollywood Orchestra New Release! Exciting And Swingin'!
Source:
Scott Thompson Public Relations
Three-time Billboard charting singer-songwriter Robin Simone’s new incarnation is RSHO! Vocalist for Kenny Burrell's Jazz Orchestra! Robin Simone Hollywood Orchestra (LP/CD) Seventeen super musicians, a gifted conductor/arranger, and Robin all creating an electrifying take on songs of great motion pictures, and bringing new magic to the big band stage. Debut album produced by the esteemed Bill Appleberry at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood. Jazz Weekly Review "Singer/songwriter Robin Simone comes up with the clever concept album of creating her own ...
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New England Conservatory Jazz Orchestra, Ken Schaphorst Big Band At Regattabar In Cambridge on November 6, 2024
Source:
Ann Braithwaite
The 17-member NEC Jazz Orchestra makes an off-campus appearance on Wednesday, November 6 at the Charles Hotel’s Regattabar (1 Bennett St., Cambridge). The orchestra is the opening act for the Ken Schaphorst Big Band, the 17-piece ensemble of acclaimed composer, performer and Jazz Studies Co-Chair Schaphorst. The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $20-$30. For information visit regattabarjazz.com. The NEC Jazz Orchestra performance celebrates the 150th birthday of revered composer Charles Ives by performing Schaphorst’s new arrangements of some of ...
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