Recent instrumental big band and orchestral jazz album recommendations. With 25 & 50 year retrospectives, to illustrate the timelessness of this great music.
THIS SITE PROMOTES FUN JAZZ!
Excerpts from and links to album reviews of rather boisterous jazz albums. Artist info links at: Wikipedia; website; Discogs; Bandcamp as available. Links to the full album on: basic/free YouTube; subscription Spotify; purchase download Bandcamp. Check your favorite service. Please enjoy!
The Orchestre National De Jazz is a progressive French big band that has released ~35 albums since 1986. Their latest endeavors delve into prog-rock and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted compositions. Discogs; website; YouTube; Bandcamp
Their 2023 album Ex Machina, with composer/saxophonist Steve Lehman, used an AI program as a pre-compositional tool. Karl Ackermann/AllAboutJazz: “ Seamlessly incorporated with acoustic and electronic instrumentation, the elements blend together as … a baffling and beautiful juggling act.”
Big Band Stories is saxophonist Fredrik Nordström’s 2nd big band album. Mark Corroto/AllAboutJazz: “Nordström's gift is his ability to leave space in this music for the solos to develop…. While Nordström solos on six tracks, he also gives generous attention to the skilled ensemble players assembled.” The band is ~northern European players.
Fredrik has released >13 albums since 2000, with Vibb, in 2007, his other big band release. Website. Discogs.
The WDR Big Band posted this concert from January 2024.
YouTube: “The WDR BIG BAND performs the concert program ‘The Rhythm Side Of Things’ together with Mark Lettieri on guitar, Billy Test on B3 and Rhodes, Wes Stephenson on electric bass, Daniel Porter on keyboards and Jason ‘JT’ Thomas on drums. Lettieri has found the perfect algorithm for funk: He fuses the influences of rhythm and rock guitar icons from the 70s and 80s. Now, for the first time, the guitar virtuoso meets the WDR Big Band under the direction of bandleader Jörg Achim Keller. The arrangements are by Mike Abene. Recorded live in Cologne's Stadtgarten.”
Mark Lettieri plays guitar and is an original member of the band Snarky Puppy, who have 5 Grammys with 5 nominations. He has released 8 solo albums since 2011. His 2021 album Deep: The Baritone Sessions Vol. 2 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Website ; Discogs; YouTube.
A post below from 7 January recommends Snarky Puppy’s 2022 Grammy-nominated album Empire Central, with Mark.
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979, and have won 4 Grammys with 6 nominations.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs
The WDR Big Band posted this tune recently. Some contemplative big band….
From the YouTube info: “The WDR BIG BAND plays ‘Young Blood’ (composer: Gerry Mulligan / arranger Jörg Achim Keller) under the direction of Jörg Achim Keller. Solos are played by Rob Bruynen on trumpet, Paul Heller on tenor saxophone and Karolina Strassmayer on alto saxophone. Live recording of the concert ‘Mr Mulligan's Concert Jazz’ at the Kölner Philharmonie (October 2023).”
Jörg Achim Keller is a German drummer who has played with the hr Bigband and the NDR Big Band. He is leader on 3 albums released with NDRBB from 2002-09. Discogs.
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979, and have won 4 Grammys with 6 nominations.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs
This album was mentioned as a new release in a post below on 21 February.
Pianist/bassist/composer/band-member Martin Sjöstedt writes 4 tunes to go with 5 standards for the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra’s (SJO) new album Horizon. Neil Duggan/AllAboutJazz: “The orchestra plays flawlessly, often weaving textures that can seamlessly shift from dark to light while the soloists improvise at a high level, making this an attractive example of the jazz orchestra art form.”
This is Martin’s ~6th album since 2009. He’s been a member of the SJO for >25 years. He also led In The Blink Of An Eye with the SJO in 2013. Martin’s Discogs.
The Stockholm Jazz Orchestra has played modern swinging big band jazz in the tradition for 40 years, with 19 albums and one more coming in the fall of 2024. They’ve done albums with Bob Brookmeyer, Bob Mintzer and Jim McNeely. SJO's Discogs.
Martin Sjöstedt & Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, Horizon, full album: YouTube; Spotify
Retrospective 1999, with an album from a quarter-century ago.
Inspiration was avant-garde saxophonist/composer/arranger Sam Rivers first album in ~20 years, and one of two 1999 releases of 4 total with the Rivbea Orchestra. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, as did his next release, Culmination, a year later.
Stephen Erlewine/AllAboutJazz: “Inspiration truly is a revelation, proving not only that Rivers retains all his creative power at the age of 75, but that avant-garde jazz can be as inviting as any other style without sacrificing any of its depth or daring.”
This goes up to the edge of free, then re-groups, and is usually just good big band. Rivers released >40 albums from 1965-2005, with a few seminal big band albums.Discogs.
The Rivbea Orchestra: Alto Saxophone – Greg Osby, Steve Coleman; Baritone Horn – Joseph Daley; Baritone Saxophone – Hamiet Bluiett; Bass – Doug Mathews; Drums – Anthony Cole; Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Sam Rivers; Tenor Saxophone – Chico Freeman, Gary Thomas; Trombone – Art Baron, Joseph Bowie, Ray Anderson; Trumpet – Baikida Carroll, James Zollar, Ralph Alessi, Ravi Best;Tuba – Bob Stewart.
Sam’s wife Beatrice helps arrange, has a namesake song on the album, and is a part of ‘Rivbea.’
Sam Rivers & Rivbea Orchestra, Inspiration, full album: YouTube; Spotify
Here’s a nice album from 2023. A tentet is a ‘little big band.’
JazzFinland: “On Rumba Liberte you can hear multidimensional music, where prog shifts are combined with the soundscape of a big band… According to pianist/arranger/bandleader Jukka Linkola you will hear an energetic and surprising ensemble, in whose sounds you can hear a lot of creative madness.”
Jukka has hewn ‘creative madness’ around Europe long enough to have >25 albums on Discogssince 1976. He did another ‘Tentet’ album in 1994. The video is an album tune.
Here is the SWR Big Band’s new release, It Is What It Is, with trombonist Joe Gallardo. The album was introduced in a post below on 11 February. It’s Latin jazz big band.
SWRis a public radio broadcaster in Stuttgart, Germany, and sponsors The SWR Big Band, which has released ~55 albums since 1997, in collaboration with jazz giants. SWRDiscogs.
The SWR Big Band won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement for the tune ‘Scrapple From The Apple,’ from their 2021 album with pianist John Beasley, Bird Lives. The album was also nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, and the tune ‘Cherokee/Koko’ was nominated for Best Jazz Performance. A post below from 10 January has more info.
The big band’s 2023 album with trumpeter Torsten Maaß, Music Written By Real Life, Part 1, was mentioned as a new release in a post below.
Trombonist Joe Gallardo has been active in Germany since the 1970s, has released ~7 albums since 1986, and penned a Grammy-winner tune …. He did an album with the NDR Big Band in 2005, Latin Jazz Latino. Joe’s Discogs.
SWR Big Band X Joe Gallardo, It Is What It Is, full album:YouTube; Spotify
Here’s a concert from 23 January by The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with trumpeter Till Brönner. Chiara Civello - Vocals, Fausto Beccalossi - Accordion, Magnus Lindgren - Conductor & Arrangements.
German trumpeter/composer Till Brönner has released ~24 albums since 1994, with a Grammy nomination and multiple Echo Awards (~German Grammys to 2018). Till has been a professor at the College of Music Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden since 2009. Website. Discogs.
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, also known as the ‘hr Big Band,’ is a project of Hessian Radio, Germany. They have released ~19 albums since 2007.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs. Their YouTube channel has >50 full concerts that were live streamed from the last 6 years. 😎
From the YouTube info: “The WDR BIG BAND plays his composition ‘Mel’ under the direction of Jim McNeely. Solos are played by Hans Dekker on drums and Paul Heller on tenor saxophone. Live recording of the concert ‘Past And Present’ in the Cologne Philharmonic (December 2023).”
Pianist/composer/arranger Jim McNeelyhas been involved with big bands since 1978, and has variously led the Vanguard & Danish Radio Jazz Orchestras and the HR Big Band. He’s also had long stints with saxophonists Phil Woods and Stan Getz. Jim has a Grammy and 12 nominations, with ~26 albums and ~18 of them big band.Website; Discogs.
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979, and have won 4 Grammys with 6 nominations.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs
David Shiers/LondonJazzNews: “Face to Face was made during pianist Nikki Iles’ time working in Germany as Composer in Residence with the awesome NDR Bigband…. recorded ‘live’ in the studio, with no overdubs or effects…. Face to Face is evidence that the big band can still give us great art.”
This is Niki’s ~13th release since 1996, and first as a big band leader. Niki’s website; Discogs.
The NDR Big Band is a project of NDR Broadcasters in Hamburg, and explores the progressive side of big band. They have released >75 albums since 1985.Discogs. Their YouTube channel (please subscribe) has >50 full concerts that were live streamed from the last 6 years.
Here’s a YouTube playlist with ~40 minutes of 5 tunes from Jazz Baltica 2023, with one below.
From the YouTube info: “The WDR BIG BAND plays ‘Big City Blues’ by Bob Brookmeyer under the direction of Jörg Achim Keller. Solos are played by Billy Test on piano, Ben Fitzpatrick on clarinet, Raphael Klemm on trombone and Rob Bruynen on trumpet. Live recording of the concert ‘Mr Mulligan's Concert Jazz’ at the Kölner Philharmonie (October 2023).”
Jörg Achim Keller is a German drummer who has played with the hr Bigband and the NDR Big Band. He is leader on 3 albums released with NDRBB from 2002-09. Discogs.
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979, and have won 4 Grammys with 6 nominations.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs
Retrospective 1999, an album from 25 years or a quarter-century ago….
Richard Ginell/Allmusic: “A 52-minute big band suite modeled after Ellington's long-form essays, it purports to evoke the moods, sounds and feelings of a cross-country train trip with selections named after a train's various cars…. There is fine soloing all around in the hard bop tradition from Wessell Anderson, Victor Goines, Ted Nash & Walter Blanding, Jr. (saxes) and Wycliffe Gordon (trombone) …. One of Marsalis' better extended form essays.”
This was trumpeter/composer/arranger Wynton Marsalis’ ~51st of >100 albums since 1981. He has won 9 Grammys with 32 nominations. Discogs. Wikipedia. website.
The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (LCJO) originated in 1988, and Marsalis has directed since ‘91. LCJO has released ~18 albums since 2015, and >30 since 1992. Wikipedia; website; Discogs(incomplete). LCJO is a component of Jazz At Lincoln Center, NYC.
Wynton Marsalis & Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Big Train, full album: YouTube; Spotify
A 2023 big band album from LCJO saxophonist Victor Goines, The Woodlawn Suite, was the very first post of this blog, on 8 December 2023. More info about Victor in that post.
Jazz At Lincoln Center has a subscription video channel, called Jazz Live ($10 mo, $100 yr), and includes shows from Dizzy’s Club. Shows are live streamed and then available VOD. For $10 you get a ~half-dozen excellent live shows monthly.
Frustratingly, they only give access to a few of their back-log shows at-a-time, instead of full access to a treasure-trove of live jazz performances. Currently available, however, is a wonderful Toshiko Akiyoshi tribute concert from 2023, which features husband Lew Tabackin on sax, and the LCJO plays her big band charts.
Coincidentally, on Friday, May 3, 8 pm/2000h EDT, the LCJO and Wynton Marsalis perform(ed) Duke Ellington At 125. That’s 2 enticements for big band jazz fans to try Jazz Live.
Here's a live performance of Big Train in its entirety from around release time. Video is a bit dated, but the sound is fine. 😎
From the YouTube info: “The WDR BIG BAND plays ‘Blueport’ (composer: Art Farmer / arranger: Al Cohn) under the direction of Jörg Achim Keller. Solos are played by Jens Neufang on baritone saxophone, Raphael Klemm on trombone, Paul Heller on tenor saxophone, John Goldsby on bass and Andy Hader on trumpet. Live recording of the concert ‘Mr Mulligan's Concert Jazz’ at the Kölner Philharmonie (October 2023).”
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979.YouTube channel (please subscribe); website; Discogs
This nice 2024 album was mentioned as a new release on 11 February below.
Thierry De Clemensat/Paris-Move: “This collaborative project, led by … pianist Garry Dial and … arranger-drummer Rich DeRosa, honors the great jazz educator Charlie Banacos, whose pedagogy has influenced generations of jazz musicians over the past 50 years. The album, consisting of 10 tracks, presents Banacos’ music reimagined and rearranged by Dial and DeRosa, performed by some of Banacos’ most accomplished disciples and friends…. A 100-page book accompanies the album, containing personal anecdotes, photographs, artistic renditions, and more.”
Guests include Jerry Bergonzi & Gary Smulyan (sax), Dick Oatts & Terrell Stafford (trumpet), Jeff Berlin (bass) and Mike Stern (guitar).
This is Dial’s ~7th album since 1988. DiscogsThis is DeRosa’s ~2nd release since 2012. Discogs.
Garry Dial & Rich DeRosa, Keep Swingin’ - The Music Of Charlie Banacos, full album: YouTube; Spotify; book @ Bookbaby
YouTube: “Featured on the new album LifeSongs…. Marshall Gilkes performs his composition ‘Sin Filtro’ together with the WDR BIG BAND. Recorded as part of the concert ‘Fresh Start’ at WDR JAZZCLUB / Cologne in November 2022.”
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs; Wikipedia
Pianist Arturo O'Farrill leads the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, based in NYC. Arturo uploads a vlog to YouTube weekly, called ‘Virtual Birdland.’ Here’s a recent episode that features pandemic- related Zoom performances. They're wild because 18 musicians were coordinated to play from home, and is also how the namesake album was recorded.
YouTube: “Virtual Birdland is continuing for the beginning of 2024! Our Belongo/ALJA online content is changing, but we will continue to present on a regular basis. Tune in every Sunday at 8:30PM ET.
This week, we're revisiting some favorite selections from the Virtual Birdland CD, released on Zoho Music in 2021. Included are compositions by Arturo O'Farrill, Rafi Malkiel and the late, great Larry Willis.
The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra are: Arturo O’Farrill – Piano & Artistic Director. Saxes: Alejandro Aviles, Roman Filiu, Adison Evans, Ivan Renta, Jasper Dutz, Larry Bustamante. Trumpets: Seneca Black, Bryan Davis, Rachel Therrien, Adam O’Farrill, Walter Cano. Trombones: Rafi Malkiel, Mariel Bildsten, Abdulrahman Amer, Earl McIntyre. Vince Cherico – Drums, Bam Bam Rodriguez – Bass, Carlos “Carly” Maldonado – Percussion, Keisel Jimenez – Congas.”
The YouTube channel for Arturo’s vlog and the orchestra is Belongó | Afro Latin Jazz (please subscribe). This is episode 174, so the channel has many vlogs and performances.
Arturo has released ~21 albums since 1999, 8 with the orchestra. Arturo has 6 Grammys and 12 nominations (4 & 7 with the orchestra), to go with 2 Latin Grammys and 3 nominations (1 each with the orchestra). They won Grammys for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2021 and 2023, with a 2022 nomination. Quite a streak! Arturo’s Discogs; website.
The vlog namesake album Virtual Birdland earned a 2022 Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz: “It's an album that also touches a lot of bases, from Cuba to Morocco and beyond, embracing Brazilian and even Kuwaiti themes while employing Afro-Cuban rhythms, the samba, rhumba, bomba jazz and American swing to press home its point…. Even though this Birdland is virtual ... the spirit is no less ardent, and it shows.” Saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera guests and wrote the tune 'Samba for Carmen.'
Arturo O'Farrill, Virtual Birdland, full album: YouTube; Spotify
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonist Mark Turner, posted the tune ‘Return From The Stars’ recently. It is a Turner composition, arranged by Jim McNeely, and Christine Jenson conducts.
This is from an almost 2 hour concert available here on YouTube, from 9 March 2023. The show was discussed in a post below.
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, also known as the ‘hr Big Band,’ is a project of Hessian Radio, Germany. They have released ~19 albums since 2007.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs. Their YouTube channel has >50 full concerts that were live streamed from the last 6 years! 😎
Pianist, big band composer/arranger, Grammy Award winner Steven Feifke posted his tune ‘Kinetic’ recently, with Steven Feifke and Bijon Watson's Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.
YouTube: “The longstanding tradition … of hiring the ‘young guns’ for an ensemble has all but disappeared in recent years... With more than two decades between them, Steven and Bijon make the objective of ‘The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra’ to strengthen that tradition of mentorship that has shaped and defined the jazz idiom since its earliest beginnings.”
From the New Trier Jazz Festival, Winnetka, IL, USA, 3 February 2024. See YouTube for band-members.
Here’s a song from an album discussed ~12 posts down on 7 February.
YouTube: “Featured on the new album LifeSongs…. Marshall Gilkes performs his composition ‘Middle Ground’ together with the WDR BIG BAND. Solos are played by Ludwig Nuss, Raphael Klemm and Peter Hedrich on trombones. Recorded as part of the concert ‘Fresh Start’ at WDR JAZZCLUB / Cologne in November 2022.”
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs; Wikipedia
This nice 2024 album was mentioned as a new release ~6 posts below.
Connor McCormick/Stage and Cinema: “On CT!, baritone saxophonist and bandleader Adam Schroeder teams up with arranger Mark Masters to deliver [13 tunes] composed by renowned trumpeter Clark Terry…. The proof is in the playing, and CT! is full of the kinds of moments that Terry himself would have appreciated, created by a band full of people with a clear connection to the history of the music, to its future, and to one another.” Peter Erskine drums.
Baritone saxophonist Adam Schroeder … presently serves as an Associate Professor of Jazz & Commercial Music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He’s a prolific studio musician with many album, television, and film credits. Website; Discogs(old)
Trumpeter/arranger Mark Masters has >15 big band releases since 1984. His most recent before this was the Mark Masters Ensemble Masters & Baron Meet Blanton & Webster. Discogs 1 ; Discogs 2.
Adam Schroeder & Mark Masters, CT! Celebrate Clark Terry, full album: YouTube; Spotify
Here’s a concert from 11 May 2023 by The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonists Dick Oatts and Gary Smulyan and arranger/conductor Jim McNeely. See YouTube for a lot more info. This version re-masters the audio of the original livestream for improved sound.
The first tune 'Three And One' composed and arranged by Thad Jones:
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, also known as the ‘hr Big Band,’ is a project of Hessian Radio, Germany. They have released ~19 albums since 2007.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs
Here’s a song from an album discussed ~10 posts down.
YouTube: “Featured on the new album LifeSongs…. Marshall Gilkes performs his composition ‘Fresh Start’ together with the WDR BIG BAND. Recorded as part of the concert ‘Fresh Start’ at WDR JAZZCLUB / Cologne in November 2022.”
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979.YouTube channel (please subscribe); website; Discogs; Wikipedia
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonist Mark Turner, posted the tune ‘Walking Ballad’ recently. It is a Turner composition, arranged by conductor Christine Jenson.
This is from an almost 2 hour concert available here on YouTube, from 9 March 2023. The show is being posted song-by-song, evidently.
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, also known as the ‘hr Big Band,’ is a project of Hessian Radio, Germany. They have released ~19 albums since 2007.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs. 😎
Nicholas Mondello/AllAboutJazz: “Islands from Dan Bonsanti is a tour de force consisting of eleven unique selections, colorful textured arrangements, and outstanding ensemble and solo playing.”
The 14 Jazz Orchestra: Dan Bonsanti, composer/conductor; Ed Calle, Ed Maina, Peter Brewer, Mike Brignola, saxophones; Brett Murphey, Jason Carder, John Lovell, trumpet; Dana Teboe, Major Bailey, trombone; Mike Levine, piano; Lindsey Blair, guitar. Guests include Dave Liebman on sax, Peter Erskine on drums and Mike Mainieri on vibes.
This is the Orchestra’s 4th album since 2015. Discogs.
The 14 Jazz Orchestra, Islands, full album: YouTube; Spotify
Pianist, big band composer/arranger, Grammy Award winner Steven Feifke posted his tune ‘I’ve Got Algorithm’ recently, with Steven Feifke and Bijon Watson's Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.
YouTube: “The longstanding tradition … of hiring the ‘young guns’ for an ensemble has all but disappeared in recent years... With more than two decades between them, Steven and Bijon make the objective of ‘The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra’ to strengthen that tradition of mentorship that has shaped and defined the jazz idiom since its earliest beginnings.”
From the New Trier Jazz Festival, Winnetka, IL, USA, 3 February 2024. See YouTube for band-members.
Added these albums to Big Band 2024, now ~5 albums, at Spotify/JazzTodayish. Check your streaming service, YouTube or Bandcamp. Good big band jazz here.
Garry Dial & Rich DeRosa, Keep Swingin’. Paris Move .
Adam Schroeder & Mark Masters, CT! Celebrate Clark Terry. Stage And Cinema.
Paul Dunmall Quintet & Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Big Band, Soultime Again.London Jazz News.
Joe Gallardo & SWR Big Band, It Is What It Is. YouTube.
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonist Mark Turner, posted the tune ‘Lennie Groove’ recently. It is a Turner composition, arranged by Jim McNeely, Christine Jenson conductor. This band is also known as the ‘hr Big Band.’
This is from an almost 2 hour concert available here on YouTube, from 9 March 2023. The show is being posted song-by-song, evidently.
The hr Big Band / Frankfurt Radio Big Band is a project of Hessian Radio, Germany. They have released ~19 albums since 2007. YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs 😎
Here’s a tune from an album discussed 5 posts down on 7 February.
YouTube: “Featured on the new album LifeSongs…. Marshall Gilkes performs his composition ‘Back In The Groove’ together with the WDR BIG BAND. Solos are played by Johan Hörlén on alto saxophone and Billy Test on piano. Recorded as part of the concert ‘Fresh Start’ at WDR JAZZCLUB / Cologne in November 2022.”
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs; Wikipedia
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonist Mark Turner, posted the tune ‘It’s Not Alright With Me’ recently. It is a Turner composition, arranged by Jim McNeely, Christine Jenson conductor. This band is also known as the ‘hr Big Band.’
This is from an almost 2 hour concert available here on YouTube, from 9 March 2023. The show is being posted song-by-song, evidently.
The hr Big Band / Frankfurt Radio Big Band is a project of Hessian Radio, Germany. They have released ~19 albums since 2007. YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs 😎
George Harris/JazzWeekly: “Trombonist, composer and arranger Doug Beavers mixes medium and big sized bands on this sophisticatedly arranged album… Rich charts.”
From his website: “... perform, arrange and record for Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Christian McBride, Mingus Big Band, Ruben Blades, Típica ’73, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Paul Simon, Willie Colón, and countless others. As a leader, he’s recorded six critically acclaimed albums; his 2017 release, Art of the Arrangement, earned a Grammy nomination.”Doug's Discogs ; Bandcamp.
Here’s a song from an album discussed just 2 posts below on 7 February.
YouTube: “Featured on the new album LifeSongs…. Recorded November 2022 in the WDR Funkhaus Studio 4, Cologne, Germany.”
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979.YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs; Wikipedia
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonist Mark Turner, posted the tune ‘Brother Sister II’ recently. It is a Turner composition, arranged by Jim McNeely, Christine Jenson conductor. This band is also known as the ‘hr Big Band.’
This is from an almost 2 hour concert available here on YouTube, from 9 March 2023. The show is being posted song-by-song, evidently.
The hr Big Band / Frankfurt Radio Big Band is a project of Hessian Radio, Germany. They have released ~19 albums since 2007. YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs 😎
Time for a 2024 release. Based on the December & January posts below, it is wholly appropriate that it is from this band.
Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz: “Marshall Gilkes spent the years 2010-13 in the WDR Big Band trombone section, shortly before he and the ensemble released Koln in 2015 [2x Grammy nominated] and Always Forward in 2018…. This is big-band jazz at its peak, marvelously written by Gilkes and masterfully performed by the impressive WDR Big Band.”
Soloists include: Billy Test, piano; Andy Haderer, trumpet; Johan Horlen & Paul Heller, saxes; fellow trombonists Ludwig Nuss, Raphael Klemm and Andy Hunter. The video is an album tune performed in-studio.
This is Marshall’s 7th album since 2008. He did a 4th big band album with the United States Air Force Band Airmen Of Note, The Jazz Heritage Series 2018 Radio Broadcasts, with drummer Peter Erskine and other guests. Marshall's Discogs; website
The WDR Big Band is a project of WDR Broadcasters in Cologne, Germany. They have released >75 albums since 1979. YouTubechannel (please subscribe); website; Discogs
