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 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, TÃpica ’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
Grammy January (see 2 posts below) includes some February.
The WDR Big Band posted this tune today. Pianist Billy Childs just won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his 2023 release The Winds Of Change.
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
This is Billy's 6th Grammy Award with 17 nominations! He has released ~19 albums since 1985. Billy's Discogs; website
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonist Mark Turner, posted the tune ‘1946’ 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 😎
Below is a preview/recap of 28 albums for Grammy January.
Seven albums that were nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award; nine 2023/22/21 Grammy nominees; five 25/50 year retrospective albums that earned nominations; five nominees for a 2023 Latin Grammy.
Grammy January (see the post above) includes some February.
Today is the day for the 2024 Grammy Awards. Nominees are reviewed in posts below that run the month of January. Let’s reminisce before the show, with an album for the 50 year retrospective. This 1974 release won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band (best album).
Scott Yanow/Allmusic: “Of all the big-band leaders of the swing era, clarinetist Woody Herman went the most out of his way to interpret current material and keep his orchestra young, enthusiastic, and modern…. This is one of Herman's most successful efforts of the period.”
Soloists are tenor Frank Tiberi, flügelhorn Tony Klatka, and keyboards Andy Laverne. Songs by John Coltrane, Frank Zappa, Stanley Clarke and Carole King. Arrangements byAlan Broadbent, Bill Stapleton and Tony Klatka.
The video is a wonderful 1974 performance of Carole King’s ‘Corazon,’ from the album.
Woody won 3 Grammys (also 1974 & 1964), a Lifetime Achievement Grammy (1987), with 12 nominations. He released >110 albums from 1944-1987. Woody’s: Discogs
That’s alotta words for 37 minutes of music. Short, but sweet.
Woody Herman, Thundering Herd, full album: YouTube; Spotify
The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with saxophonist Mark Turner, posted the tune ‘Sonnet For Stevie’ recently. It is a Turner composition, arranged by conductor Christine Jenson. 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 😎
