Jazz Class Orchestra Meets Phil Woods - 'Porgy and Bess'

Retrospective 1999, with an album from a quarter-century ago. (Tuesday 25s 😁)

"Saxophonist Phil Woods may be at his best when working over tunes familiar to his audience. This collection of ten classic Porgy and Bess songs is just such an instance...  On this occasion, Woods was accompanied by an excellent Italian big band." David Franklin/JazzTimes. Album Discogs ; Allmusic.

Alto saxophonist Phil Woods was a jazz giant active from the 1950s into the 2010s. He played in prominent 1950s big bands (Gil Evans Orchestra), and then primarily led his own groups later. He guested on and occasionally led big band albums throughout his career. Wikipedia ; Discogs ; Allmusic ; website.

Jazz Class Orchestra Meets Phil Woods, Porgy and Bess, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

This is on the Jazz Best Albums 1999 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish. 😎

Miguel Zenon - 'Golden City'

San Francisco-based saxophonist Miguel Zenon's 2024 album Golden City earned a 2025 Grammy Award nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Recorded with a nonet, Zenon now has >20 Grammy/Latin Grammy nominations. He won Best Latin Jazz Album last year for his duet release with pianist Luis Pedromo, El Arte Del Bolero, Vol. 2.

"Thematically and instrumentally challenging and complex, featuring a nonet heavy on the low-end brass (trombones, tuba, trumpet), Golden City is a triumph.... The album is Miguel Zenon at his creative peak." Dan McClenaghan/AllAboutJazz. Musicians include trumpeter Diego Urcola and trombonist Alan Ferber.

This is Zenon's ~24th album since 2001. He is a long-time member of the SF Jazz Collective. Miguel's: website ; Wikipedia ; Discogs ; Bandcamp.

Miguel Zenon, Golden City, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

This is on the Jazz 2024 and Jazz Best Albums 2024 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

Enjoy the tune 'Cultural Corridor' from a 2022 performance of the album. 😎

Bill Warfield and The Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra - ‘Chesapeake’

"One of the more flexible large ensembles on the New York scene. Capable of swinging fervently, playing a persuasive mambo or laying down the funk in no uncertain terms, the Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra (HKFO) covers a lot of bases on Chesapeake." Jeremy Smith/Last Row Music. Guests include saxophonist Gary Bartz, trombonist Conrad Herwig and keyboardist Paul Shaffer.

Trumpeter-composer-arranger-bandleader-educator and Baltimore native Bill Warfield has played in the NYC area and released ~9 big band albums since ~1983 (Discogs). Most were as the Bill Warfield Big Band, and this is the 3rd HKFO album since 2020. Bill has a day job as director of the jazz program at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Bill Warfield and The Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra, Chesapeake, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

This is on the Big Band 2024 and Jazz Best Albums 2024 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish. 😎

Jihye Lee Orchestra - 'Infinite Connections' & 'Daring Mind' & 'April'

"Infinite Connections is remarkable contemporary jazz with a slight yet definitive Korean accent, marvelously written by Lee and impeccably performed by the orchestra." Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz.

Jihye Lee is a Korean-born, Brooklyn-based composer, arranger, and conductor. This is her 3rd big band album since 2017, and all 3 are worth a listen. She studied with Jim McNeely at the Manhattan School of Music, and her co-producer is Grammy-winning composer/arranger Darcy James Argue.

Jihye Lee Orchestra, Infinite Connections, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

This is on the Big Band 2024 and Jazz Best Albums 2024 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

"...a buoyant drama, a roaming investigation that swells and swales in all the right places," wrote Mike Jurkovic/AllAboutJazz about her 2021 album Daring Mind, which was Best Jazz Album at the Korean Music Awards.

Jihye Lee Orchestra, Daring Mind, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

This is on the Big Band 2021 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

“Thought-provoking and gut-wrenching all at once,” wrote Dan Bilawsky/AllAboutJazz about her 2017 debut album April.

Jihye Lee Orchestra, April, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

Here is a studio performance of the first tune from Infinite Connections, with trumpet guest Ambrose Akinmusire. 😎

Bill Watrous - 'Manhattan Wildlife Refuge' & Gary Urwin Jazz Orch - 'A Beautiful Friendship' & 'Flying Colors'

Retrospective 1974, with an album from a half-century ago… (Friday 50s 😁) A Black Friday bonus includes a 2014 and 2024 album as well.

"Manhattan Wildlife Refuge and its follow-up, The Tiger of San Pedro, are the only two recordings of trombonist Bill Watrous' impressive big band of the mid-'70s." Scott Yanow/Allmusic. Album Discogs.

Trombonist/composer/arranger Bill Watrous was active in New York in the 60s - 70s, with a stint for the Merv Griffin Show and CBS. He moved to Los Angeles in the 80s, and continued to play on occasional small and big band albums to go with steady studio-work. Sam Houston State University (Texas) renamed its 66-year running jazz festival the SHSU Bill Watrous Jazz Festival 14 years ago, with an early April date. Bill's Discogs ; Allmusic.

Bill Watrous, Manhattan Wildlife Refuge, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

This is on the Jazz Best Albums 1974 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

Bill is featured on several Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra (GUJO) albums. Here's Bill's last big band recorded performance, from 2014.

Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra, A Beautiful Friendship, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

The YouTube link above includes the 2024 album 

Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra, Flying Colors, so here's the Spotify link also.

"Pianist Gary Urwin leads a swinging big band through some clever charts and rich solos brought on by an A-list of guests including the late Carl Saunders/tp, Wayne Bergeron/tp, Pete Christlieb/ts." George Harris/JazzWeekly. GUJO Discogs

This is on the Big Band 2024 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish. 😎

Steven Feifke & Bijon Watson's Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra - Complete Concert YouTube

Pianist, big band composer/arranger, Grammy Award winner Steven Feifke posted this concert earlier this year, with his and colleague Bijon Watson's Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.

From the New Trier Jazz Festival, Gaffney Auditorium, New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL, USA, on 3 February 2024.

The band: Reeds - Alexa Tarantino, Christopher McBride, Tom Luer, Kirsten Edkins, Lauren Sevian. Trumpets - Bijon Watson, Derrick Gardner, Janelle Finton, Danny Jonokuchi. Trombones - John Fedchock, Javier Nero, Nick Finzer. Bass - Julianne Gralle. Guitar - Will Brahm. Piano - Steven Feifke. Bass - Dan Chmielinski. Drums - Jeff Hamilton.

A post below celebrates Steven Feifke’s last 3 big band albums and Grammy Award: Catalyst ; Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra (2023 Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album) ; Kinetic.

Two of Feifke’s band-members released excellent big band albums discussed below:

Trombonist Javier Nero Kemet: The Black Land.

Trumpeter Derrick Gardner Still I Rise. 😎

Fernando Huergo Big Band - 'Relentless' & 'The Possibility Of Change'

"There are few wasted moments on Relentless, which is a marvelous tour de force for the band, its eloquent soloists and especially Huergo's creative and finely tuned compositions and arrangements." Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz.

This is Argentine bassist Fernando Huergo's ~12th album since 1998, his 2nd with a big band. A New England (USA) resident, he is a faculty member at the New England Conservatory and Berklee College Of Music. Discogs.

Fernando Huergo Big Band, Relentless, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

This is on the Big Band 2024 and Jazz Best Albums 2024 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

Have a listen to his really nice 2020 album after you enjoy the new one.

Fernando Huergo Big Band, The Possibility Of Change, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

This is on the Big Band 2020 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

Here's nice studio performance of the first tune from Relentless. 😎

Bob Brookmeyer New Art Orchestra - 'New Works Celebration'

Retrospective 1999, with an album from a quarter-century ago. (Tuesday 25s 😁)

"... Bob Brookmeyer has conceived something that is as warm and passionate as it is cerebral and sometimes startling." Douglas Payne/All About Jazz. Album: Wikipedia ; Discogs ; Allmusic.

This was Bob's first of 6 albums with his New Art Orchestra (NAO). NAO Discogs.

Trombonist/composer/arranger Bob Brookmeyer was a jazz giant from the 1950s - 2011, both in historical small groups and as a big band composer and arranger, with >70 albums as leader. He earned 8 Grammy nominations, 2 with later NAO albums. Bob's website ; Discogs ; Allmusic.

Bob Brookmeyer New Art Orchestra, New Works Celebration, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

This is on the Jazz Best Albums 1999 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish. 😎

Joe Clark Big Band - 'Black And Cardinal'

Joe Clark is a Chicago-based trumpeter, composer and arranger. His compositions have been performed by Yo Yo Ma, Kurt Elling and the WDR Big Band, to name a few. Black and Cardinal is his 4th album since 2013, and 2nd with a big band. The only complaint - it could be longer... Joe's Discogs.

Joe Clark Big Band, Black And Cardinal, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

This is on the Big Band 2024 and Jazz Best Albums 2024 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish. 😎

The One O'Clock Lab Band - 'Lab 2024'

3rd (or 1st) of 3 posts about jazz big bands comprised of young musicians. The other 2 are a short scroll below.

The class projects of the University of North Texas College of Music 'One O’Clock Lab Band' (OLB) have 7 Grammy Award nominations since the 1970s, from a library of >80 critically-acclaimed albums. Their 2024 release is Lab 2024.

"The OLB evolved from an extracurricular stage band founded in 1927 into a curricular laboratory dance band in 1947 when North Texas began its jazz degree program.... The OLB is noted for its exceptional individual musicianship and tight ensemble performance.... Among others, the university harbors the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson Jazz Libraries." Wikipedia ; website ; YouTube ; Discogs (incomplete)

The One O'Clock Lab Band, Lab 2024, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

This is on the Big Band 2024 and Jazz Best Albums 2024 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

The vid is not an album tune, but a nice performance of a tune by guest drummer Alison Miller. 😎