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T.K. Blue: Another Blue
by Jack Bowers
Here’s a generous helping of flavorsome post–bop Jazz deliciously home–cooked by T. K. Blue (also known as Talib Kibwe, and as a conspicuously talented woodwind player, often with Randy Weston’s Spirit of Life Orchestra) and his enterprising companions. Group sizes range from duo to sextet with Blue (alto) and Weston duetting wonderfully on Dizzy’s “Night in ...
The Princeton University Monk / Mingus Ensemble: Sounds from the Free-Thinking
by Jack Bowers
Don’t let the title of this release from Princeton University (or the impressionistic cover art) throw you off–balance or dissuade you from listening. Monk and Mingus were free–thinkers, there’s no doubt of that; but they weren’t so free that they abandoned the basic building blocks of Jazz or any other music — melody, harmony, rhythm, counterpoint ...
Big Band der Fachhochschule Furtwangen: Untitled
by Jack Bowers
This is a demo disc (less than 25 minutes long) of another of Germany’s many “school bands,” this one devoted for the most part to the tried–and–true repertoire of the swing and early bop eras. The charts are pleasant but uncomplicated, the tempos generally too sluggish (and dare I say square?) for the material (it’s hard ...
The Foxborough High School Jazz Ensembles 1997-99: Rockin' in Rhythm: The Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
by Jack Bowers
Another picturesque homage to Duke Ellington (high–school division) performed by the conspicuously talented Foxborough High School Jazz Ensembles (1997–99) under Stephen Massey’s baton. Massey must be doing something right, as his students’ grasp of the subtlety, dynamics and color of Ellington’s music is truly remarkable, especially for musicians who haven’t yet earned their high–school diplomas. Section ...
Ralph Carmichael: Big Band Gospel Classics
by Jack Bowers
One can’t help but marvel at how wonderfully these time–honored spirituals and hymns lend themselves to contemporary big–band arrangements. It helps, of course, if the arranger is as sharp and seasoned as Ralph Carmichael, a resourceful “song doctor” who could probably make Lawrence Welk’s or Guy Lombardo’s book swing. And it helps further if the band ...
The NDR Big Band: Ellingtonia
by Jack Bowers
Here’s a nourishing slice of Ellingtonia from Germany’s world–class NDR Big Band with several guest artists sitting in to enhance the bill of fare. While some of the names may be unfamiliar to Jazz enthusiasts on this side of the pond, take it from one who’s been listening to big–band Jazz for nearly half a century ...
The SOS Big Band: Show and Ballroom Live / Sound of Vegas
by Jack Bowers
The SOS (Sound of Swing) Big Band, formed ten years ago by Stefan Nordin and comprised mainly of music teachers and musical hobbyists, is based in Stockholm, Sweden. It’s clear from these two discs, recorded in concert in 1995 ( Ballroom ) and ’97 ( Vegas ), that this is a band that plays to its ...
Lee Gibson with the Fat Chops Big Band: Frim Fram Sauce
by Jack Bowers
As an enthusiastic admirer of Great Britain’s various “youth orchestras,” I’ve often wondered what the members of those ensembles do after “graduation,” so I was delighted to learn that a number of players from the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra’s “over–the–hill–gang” had reassembled to form the high–powered Fat Chops Big Band whose first recording, Frim Fram Sauce, ...
Ultrasound: North Utsire South Utsire / Critical Moments
by Jack Bowers
Allow me to say at the outset that this is not music I would rush to the nearest record store to buy. On the other hand, there are many others who might. If one bases his evaluation on size and instrumentation, Ultrasound (based in Bristol, England) is a “big band” (although it prefers the term “contemporary ...
Ken Peplowski: Last Swing of the Century: Big Band Music of Benny Goodman
by Jack Bowers
To the question of “why another album of Benny Goodman–style music,” the obvious answer is, “when it’s done this well, no other reason is needed.” Ken Peplowski, who like Benny is a clarinet virtuoso of some renown, assembled an all–star big band to pay suitable homage to his illustrious predecessor on Last Swing of the Century ...
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