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Frank Macchia: Emotions
by Jack Bowers
Jazz meets the symphony on this ambitious enterprise by composer/arranger/saxophonist Frank Macchia and the Prague Orchestra, the inspiration for which was Stan Getz's album, Focus (Verve, 1961) which Macchia, now in his mid-forties, first heard more than thirty years ago. The centerpiece is Macchia's four-movement suite for saxophone and strings, Emotions, whose sections represent anger, hope, ...
Mt. Hood Jazz Band & Combo 2006: My Foolish Heart
by Jack Bowers
The Mt. Hood Jazz Band is best described as an anomaly--a community college ensemble that doesn't play like one. Director Susie Jones must be given at least partial credit for that. I'd say “You're doin' a heckuva job, Susie, but there's no telling where that could lead. Seriously, these young musicians--most of them home-grown in Oregon--are ...
Jennifer Leitham: The Real Me
by Jack Bowers
Those who know Jennifer Leitham best will most appreciate the title of The Real Me. Others need know only that she is a terrific bassist--and not a bad singer either. The album is comprised entirely of Leitham's invariably charming compositions, and much of it is performed by her trio with pianist Josh Nelson and drummer Randy ...
Big Band Dorsten: Critic's Choice
by Jack Bowers
Yet another excellent big band from Germany, this one from the small city of Dorsten (pop. 80,000), at the northern edge of the Ruhregebiet area, which marked its twentieth anniversary by releasing the splendid album Critic's Choice. I don't know whether this is a professional ensemble (I suspect not) but it surely plays like one. As ...
Yule Struttin', Albuquerque Style
by Jack Bowers
The New Mexico Jazz Workshop held its annual holiday fund-raiser, “Yule Struttin,'" December 2 at the Albuquerque Museum of Art. About seven hundred people were there to enjoy a variety of food and drink, a silent auction, art exhibits, and entertainment by a number of groups including the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra. The AJO was ...
Brussels Jazz Orchestra / Royal Flemish Philharmonic: Dangerous Liaison
by Jack Bowers
I am loath to use the word masterpiece when appraising any musical endeavor, but there is simply no better way to describe these remarkable compositions for big band and symphony orchestra by the superb Belgian composer/trumpeter Bert Joris, which together frame the definitive answer to anyone who says there's not much happening on the European jazz ...
The Jimmy Heath Big Band: Turn Up the Heath
by Jack Bowers
Back in the early '90s I asked tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath if he planned a followup to his Grammy-nominated album, Little Man Big Band (Verve, 1992). As I recall, he smiled politely but didn't really answer the question. Now he has--and with an exclamation point. Describing how his latest superb album, Turn Up the Heath, came ...
SWR Big Band: A Fresh Taste of Thad Jones and Frank Foster
by Jack Bowers
None of the music on Fresh Taste is actually fresh, having been recorded in 1994-96 when the SWR Big Band was still the SDR, and previously issued on CD--but that doesn't mean it need be any less rewarding to anyone who hasn't yet heard it. To the contrary, those whose antennae are attuned to the straight-ahead ...
Forrest Buchtel's New York Confidential Big Band: Shhh!!
by Jack Bowers
To help enliven the first recording by his NYConfidential Big Band, trumpeter Forrest Buchtel assembled an A-list of the city's busiest sidemen and handed them a dozen charts by Grammy Award-winning composer/arranger Gary Anderson. Needless to say, it's a productive alliance. With two exceptions (more about them in a moment), the studio session consists of openly ...
University of Colorado Jazz Ensemble 1: CU Over the Rainbow
by Jack Bowers
Over the past five years the University of Colorado's Jazz Studies program has earned no less than 13 Student Music Awards from Down Beat magazine. I say “earned because (a) the competition is gaining strength each year; and (b) this is one close-knit and hardworking group of undergrads, as one can readily verify on CU Over ...
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