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These Are a Few of My Favorite....Charts
by Jack Bowers
Whenever the topic of desert islands arises among jazz fans, the focus is invariably on which albums (discs) one would choose to cram into a suitcase if one were ever stranded on an otherwise barren island. While the consideration of particular arrangements seldom governs the debate, I really think it should. After all, few albums, however ...
Sonny Rollins Elected as Member of American Academy of Arts & Sciences
by Jack Bowers
This month's most welcome news has nothing to do with big bands but everything to do with artistry and excellence: saxophonist and jazz icon Sonny Rollins has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The Academy, a center for independent policy research (I don't quite understand what that has to do ...
Stan Kenton Alumni Band / Dave Lisik Orchestra / New Zealand School of Music Big Band
by Jack Bowers
Stan Kenton Alumni Band Have Band Will Travel Summit Records 2010 There was a time (often referred to as “the good old days") when the phrase Have Band Will Travel would have been commonplace, as popular touring bands traversed the country on an almost daily basis to brave ...
Jazzing Around L.A.
Saxist Don Menza Vibrato Bel Air Saturday Elliott Caine Quintet with Mahesh Balasooriya, piano Jax Glendale Saturday Guitarist Anthony Wilson Trio Blue Whale Saturday Vibist Nick Mancini Bleecker Street 18640 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana
Phil Kelly and the NW Prevailing Winds; Eric Essix and the Night Flight Big Band; University of North Texas Two O'Clock Lab Band
by Jack Bowers
Phil Kelly & the Northwest Prevailing Winds Ballet of the Bouncing Beagles Origin Records 2009 The Ballet of the Bouncing Beagles, Marius Nordal writes in the liner notes to composer / arranger Phil Kelly's latest recording, “was inspired by an actual photograph of Phil's two beagles jumping up in the ...
The Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra Meets Fred Sturm
by Jack Bowers
The Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra was onstage January 23, 2010 at the University of New Mexico's Woodward Hall for a concert featuring the compositions and arrangements of Fred Sturm, director of Jazz Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. The concert was a part of the New Mexico All-State Band Competition, which was being held at the ...
Back in the Saddle Again...Sort Of
by Jack Bowers
After an absence of more than 45 years, your correspondent returned to the airwaves on December 15, 2009 co-hosting a three-hour program of big-band holiday music on KSFR-FM in Santa Fe, NM. I was invited to share a part of my CD library by Arlen Asher, one of New Mexico's finest jazz musicians, who has been ...
Strike Up the (Unsung) Bands
by Jack Bowers
The big band era is known for producing a number of enormously successful ensembles whose leaders were household names: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson, then on through Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, the brothers Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie and, ...
Salute to Stan Kenton: Artistry in Contrast
by Jack Bowers
Artistry in Rhythm, the Ken Poston / Los Angeles Jazz Institute's 2009 homage to the renowned bandleader Stan Kenton, was held October 8-11 at the Sheraton LAX Four Points Hotel. As always, there was much to see, hear and admire: films, panel discussions, special presentations and, last but not least, no fewer than nineteen concerts by ...
Gerald Wilson Orchestra / Dallas Original Jazz Orchestra / University of North Texas Two O'Clock Lab Band
by Jack Bowers
Gerald Wilson Orchestra Detroit Mack Avenue Records 2009 Composer / arranger / ageless wonder Gerald Wilson, most of whose recent albums (Monterey Moods; New York, New Sound; Theme for Monterey; State Street Sweet) have been built around sectional themes, returns “home" on Detroit to paint an earnest musical ...
