Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra - 'Nice Work' & 'The Governor' & 'Ways Of Seeing' & a YouTube Concert

Tuesday 25s, albums from about a quarter-century ago. Today's recommendation is a wonderful 3 album-run from 1999 - 2000 by the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra (DRJO), or also Big Band (DRBB) 😊

Nice Work was required to earn pianist/composer/arranger Jim McNeely and the DRJO a 2001 Grammy Award nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. 😁 Jim also earned a nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement for the Gershwin tune 'Nice Work If You Can Get It.' Album Allmusic ; Discogs.

Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra & Jim McNeely, Nice Work, full album: Spotify 

This is on the Jazz Best Albums 2000 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

McNeely has led >25 , played on >140, and arranged for >100 albums since 1966. Jim earned a Grammy as part of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, with 12 more nominations. He was chief conductor of the DRJO/DRBB from 1998 - 2002. His piano chops placed him in the Stan Getz Quartet for 4 years and the Phil Woods Quintet for 6. Jim's website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.

A full concert video is posted below where McNeely arranges and conducts the Frankfurt Radio Big Band.

The jazz big band of The Danish Broadcasting Corporation was established in 1964 and has been renamed several times, with >70 albums. The complete discography is spread over at least these 2 iterations. DRJO Discogs. DRBB website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.

I didn't write a post about the DRBB's 2024 album XL-LX, but I did mention its release in a post below, with links to album streams.

Niels Jørgen Steen conducted the DRJO on their 1999 Duke Ellington centennial tribute The Governor. This is an energetic and fun album. Discogs. Niels has been active in Danish jazz since 1958, with >100 composer/writer/pianist/conductor credits. His piano chops are exhibited with > 10 albums with saxophone legend Ben Webster. Niels Discogs ; Wikipedia.

Dutch Radio Jazz Orchestra & Niels Jørgen Steen, The Governor, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

Danish pianist/composer/bandleader Ole Kock Hansen conducted the DRJO/BB for ~5 albums from 1995 - 2000. The 1999 album Ways Of Seeing: Live At The Basement, Sydney, captures a hot, straight-ahead show from Down Under. Audio could be crisper, but overall is just fine. Album Discogs. Ole's Discogs. 

Dutch Radio Jazz Orchestra & Ole Kock Hansen, Ways Of Seeing, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

The 2 above are on the Jazz Best Albums 1999 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

The DRBB shows they are a team effort, as the conductor from the 3rd album above leads an entire concert of music from the 2nd album, 7 years before either. A wonderful show from 1992, with nice sound. Trombonist Buster Cooper and trumpeter Clark Terry guest and solo, and the band's regular soloists are quite adept.  😎

Terence Blanchard - 'Jazz In Film'

Tuesday 25s, an album from about a quarter-century ago ... 1999.  😉

"Terence Blanchard covers classic motion picture scores with an expressive jazz trumpet and approach to straight-ahead jazz on ... Jazz In Film. Scores ... are immersed in the world of jazz and resurface complete with Blanchard's imprint and eloquent style that is reminiscent of mid-'60s Miles Davis." Paula Edelstein/Allmusic.  

Covers of Duke Ellington (Anatomy of a Murder), Quincy Jones (The Pawn Broker), Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown), Bernard Herrmann (Taxi Driver) and Elmer Bernstein (Man with the Golden Arm) and more. A band of: Bass – Reginald Veal; Drums – Carl Allen; Piano – Kenny Kirkland get some help from: Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson; Trombone – Steve Turre; Alto Saxophone – Donald Harrison. An orchestra supplements most tunes. Album Discogs.

Terence Blanchard is a New Orleans-born jazz trumpeter and film composer known for his close association with director Spike Lee. He has >80 film and television scores, has been nominated for 2 Academy Awards, has won 7 Grammy Awards with 16 nominations, and has an Emmy and BAFTA nomination. Website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.

Terence Blanchard, Jazz In Film, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Roy Wiegand's big bands - ‘Stan: Big Sur’ & 'Whatever Floats Your (Boat) Bone'

Tuesday 25s, an album from 1999, or about a quarter-century ago.... 😉

"Trombonist Roy Wiegand’s ... big–band release ... is by far his best to date with radiant charts ... and intrepid blowing throughout by Wiegand and his companions." Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz.  Wiegand invited several Stan Kenton / Woody Herman alumni, such as himself, and saxophonist Bill Perkins, trumpeters Mike Vax and Buddy Childers, bassist Don Bagley and drummer Chuck Flores. Album Discogs.

Roy released 4 albums in a career that began in ~1955 in NYC. He also played in bands for Kai Windig, CBS, The Jackie Gleason Show, and then moved to Los Angeles to play in many film scores. Roy's website.

The Roy Wiegand Jazz Orchestra, Stan - Big Sur, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

His 1996 album Whatever Floats Your Bone Boat is another fine album. Less-known players but they include Roy's son on trumpet. "This album ... may be the surprise big band release of the year, sporting virtuosic writing and soloing throughout..." Dan Weinstein/L.A. Jazz Scene. Album Discogs.

The Roy Wiegand Big Band, Whatever Floats Your Boat Bone, full album: YouTube ; Spotify 😎

Claude Bolling Big Band - 'A Tone Parallel To Harlem: Duke Ellington'

Tuesday 25s an album from 1999, or about a quarter-century ago.... 😉

Claude Bolling was a French pianist and bandleader who interbred jazz and classical idioms throughout a career that spanned from 1945 - 2016. His love of Duke Ellington's music resulted in this big band album of Duke's tunes, with Claude's French big band. Album Discogs.

The Claude Bolling Big Band released ~15 albums from 1990 - 2016. Discogs. Bolling's Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.

Claude Bolling Big Band, A Tone Parallel To Harlem: Duke Ellington, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Paquito D’Rivera - 'Tropicana Nights'

Tuesday 25s 😁 an album from 1999, a quarter-century ago. Happy big band New Year! 😄

"Highly recommended, thoroughly enjoyable, and perhaps his magnum opus." Michael Nastos/Allmusic. This earned a 2000 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. Album Discogs.

Saxophone legend Paquito D'Rivera has released >80 albums since 1975, with 16 Grammy+Latin Grammy Awards and 33 more nominations. 😱 website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.

Copy 'Paquito' into the 'search box' for posts about 4 albums he guests on below.

Paquito D’Rivera, Tropicana Nights, full album: Spotify ; Bandcamp

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

Bob Mintzer Big Band - 'Latin From Manhattan'

Tuesday 25s,  an album from about a quarter-century ago.... 😁

“Tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer and his 17-piece ensemble perform ten numbers with an Afro-Cuban beat provided by percussionist Louis Bauzo.... This Afro-Cuban flavored effort serves as a strong change of pace for Mintzer's orchestra.” Scott Yanow/Allmusic.

This is a 1998 release, so part of the 25-year (plus one 😁) retrospective. Album Discogs. Bob did ~15 albums with his big band from 1987 through 2018. Big band Discogs. Bob's Discogs ; website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic.

Bob Mintzer Big Band, Latin From Manhattan, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

Bob Mintzer earned a post below about 3 albums he did while guest musical director of the WDR Big Band: Jackets XL, Soundscapes and Drop Shot.

This is on the Jazz Best Albums 1998 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish. 😎

Lew Tabackin & Netherlands Metropole Orchestra - 'Pyramid'

Tuesday 25s 😁 an album from a quarter-century ago....

A recent tribute post to pianist/composer/arranger/bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi mentions her husband, tenor saxophone and flute virtuoso Lew Tabackin.

"Lew Tabackin's guest appearance with the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra (NMO) is one of the most enjoyable in their series of collaborations with jazz soloists.... This is a very well-crafted release," Ken Dryden/Allmusic. Album Discogs. 

Lew has released at least 30 albums as leader and with Toshiko. He's been a pro since 1962, and was in the bands of television hosts (USA) Dick Cavett and Johnny Carson. Lew, 84 now, still plays regularly in NYC, just did a tour with his trio in Japan, where he plans a 2025 Japan tour with Toshiko, who just turned 95, as a duo! My jazz heroes! 😍 Lew's: website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.

The NMO, now called the Metropole Orkest,  has 4 Grammys and 2 Oscars, and has released >150 albums since 1952. They are a project of Netherlands Public Broadcasting, and are based in Hilversum. NMOs: website ; Wikipedia ; Discogs. A post below is about their 2024 Grammy-nominated album with arranger Vince Mendoza, Olympians.

Lew Tabackin & Netherlands Metropole Orchestra, Pyramid, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Tom Harrell - 'Time's Mirror'

Tuesday 25s 😁 an album from a quarter-century ago....

Trumpeter Tom Harrell's 1999 big band album Time's Mirror earned a 2000 Grammy Award nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance (album).

"Harrell's regular pianist Xavier Davis, saxophonist Don Braden, and trombonist Conrad Herwig are standouts in terms of their solo spots and this tight ensemble, some 17 strong, manages to nail Harrell's charts with a precision that belies their relative difficulty." C.A. Hovan/AllAboutJazz. Album Allmusic ; Discogs ; Wikipedia

Harrell has released >65 albums since 1976, and has won multiple Trumpeter of the Year awards from DownBeat magazine. Tom's website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.

Tom Harrell, Time's Mirror, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

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

Tuesday 25s 😁 an album from a quarter-century ago....

"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. 😎

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. 😎

Lalo Schifrin - 'Latin Jazz Suite' & its YouTube concert

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

"Lalo Schifrin's Latin Jazz Suite is a masterful celebration of the diverse and colorful sounds and feelings that Latin forms add to the jazz vocabulary. It is also a reflection of the composer's successful contributions to the Latin musical language over the last four decades." Douglas Payne/AllAboutJazz.

Recorded in concert with the WDR Big Band, guests include trumpeter Jon Faddis, saxophonist David Sanchez and percussionist Alex Acuna. The song ‘Fiesta’ earned a 2000 Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement.

Pianist/composer Lalo Schifrin has released >140 jazz, classical and film score albums since the 1950s. He is a five-time Grammy Award winner; he has been nominated for six Academy Awards (and received an 'honorary Oscar') and four Emmy Awards. Lalo's website ; Discogs.

Lalo Schifrin, Latin Jazz Suite, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Enjoy the wonderful live show in full below. Video is a bit dated but sounds absolutely fine.  😎

Sam Rivers' Rivbea Orchestra - ‘Culmination’

Retrospective 1999, with an album from a quarter-century ago.

Culmination was avant-garde saxophonist/composer/arranger Sam Rivers second big band album of 1999. These were his first albums in ~20 years, and the first 2 of 4 total with the Rivbea Orchestra. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, as did Inspiration, a year earlier, which earlier earned a post below.

David Adler at AllAboutJazz: “You can practically hear the 70s loft scene come to life as Rivers and the other strong soloists on this record — Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, and Hamiet Bluiett among them — take turns navigating the atonal contours of these compositions. Yet another elliptically eloquent statement from Rivers, one of the most refreshingly radical improvisers of our time.”

This is really nice big band, with a bit of a wild streak.  Rivers released >40 albums from 1965-2005, with a few seminal big band albums. Discogs.

'Rivbea' is a combo of Sam’s and his wife Beatrice's name, and she helps arrange.

Sam Rivers' Rivbea Orchestra, Culmination, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Sam Rivers & Rivbea Orchestra - ‘Inspiration’

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

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

Wynton Marsalis & Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra - ‘Big Train’

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

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

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.  😎

Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra - ‘Far East Suite’

Here’s an album for the quarter-century retrospective, and Grammy-nominated. This 1999 release was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance (album).

A tribute to a 1966 Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn classic. Alex Henderson/AllMusic: “While Ellington's orchestra stuck to traditional instruments, [drummer Anthony] Brown's outfit combined them with various Asian and Middle Eastern instruments, which range from Chinese bamboo flutes to the daf (a Persian/Iranian drum) and the ney (a Middle Eastern flute). The end result is … fresh-sounding instead of clichéd.”

This was the Orchestra's 2nd of 4 albums from 1998 to 2010. Orchestra’s Discogs. This was Anthony’s 1st of 4 Grammy nominations. Anthony's Wikipedia.

Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra, Far East Suite, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Chick Corea & London Phil - ‘Corea: Spain & Piano Concerto No. 1’

Grammy January/February continues. This begins/ends a trio of Chick Corea posts (below): large ensembles, none with traditional big bands; 2 were tributes, not this one; 2 with Grammy nods. This 1999 release also fits in for the quarter-century retrospective.

Pianist/composer Chick Corea won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for the version of his 1971 song ‘Spain,’ on this 1999 release with the London Philharmonic and his band Origin.

Chick Corea & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Corea: Spain & Piano Concerto No. 1, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Don Sebesky - ‘Joyful Noise’ & ‘I Remeber Bill’ & ‘Giant Box’

The emphasis here is contemporary large ensemble jazz. However, to illustrate the timelessness of this wonderful musical form, an occasional series of albums from a quarter-century and a half-century ago will be recommended. Here’s a gem from 1999, and 2 earlier, all with Grammy wins or nominations.

Don Sebesky arranged for hundreds of artists, including Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, John Pizzarelli, Michael Buble, Liza Minnelli, Seal, and Prince. 3 Grammy Awards, plus 31 more nominations, 1 Tony Award and 2 nominations, his career began as a trombonist in 1956. He passed away in 2023.

He only released ~16 albums under his own name. A nice one is 1999s Joyful Noise: A Tribute To Duke Ellington. Michael Nastos/Allmusic is succinct: "Of all the tributes to Ellington, this is the best, a magnum opus to the maestro from a man and his band who are well aware of his grandeur, plus how to play all the right notes." This album won him 2 of his 3 Grammy Awards in 1999: Best Instrumental Composition for ‘Joyful Noise Suite,’ and Best Instrumental Arrangement for ‘Chelsea Bridge.’ Don’s: website ; Discogs.

Don Sebesky, Joyful Noise: A Tribute To Duke Ellington, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

His 3rd Grammy was also for a big band tribute album, 1998s I Remember Bill: A Tribute To Bill Evans. He won Best Instrumental Arrangement for ‘Waltz for Debby.’ The YouTube link is the album on one file, with a ~10 minute Bill Evans interview at the end, and sounds fine.

Don Sebesky, I Remember Bill: A Tribute To Bill Evans, full album: YouTube

Here’s his album from a half-century - plus one - ago, Giant Box, from 1973. It earned a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Performance By A Big Band in 1975.

Richard S. Ginell/Allmusic: “The lineup reads almost like a gathering of the gods: Freddie Hubbard, Randy Brecker/tr; Hubert Laws/flu; Paul Desmond, Joe Farrell, Grover Washington, Jr./sax; Milt Jackson/vb; George Benson/gtr; Bob James/kb; Ron Carter/bs; Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, Airto Moreira/dr & pc; Jackie Cain, Roy Kral/voc. Thankfully the music lives up to the billing… Giant Box still ranks as a sensational coup.”

Don Sebesky, Giant Box, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

Joyful Noise is on Jazz Best Albums 1999 and Giant Box is on Jazz Best Albums 1973 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.  😎