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 and album info links at: Wikipedia; website; Discogs; Bandcamp; Allmusic, as available/worthwhile. Links to the full album on: basic/free YouTube; subscription Spotify; purchase download Bandcamp, as available. Check your favorite service. Please enjoy!
The Charles Mingus Centennial Sessions Vol. 2 follows 2022s Vol. 1 in the celebration of bassist/composer/bandleader Charles Mingus. Vol. 1 was a Grammy nominee, and has a post below. While Vol. 2 did not earn a Grammy-nod, it "features an impressive collection of new performances of his timeless works." William Brown/Maxazine. Album Discogs.
Friday 50s 😁 an album from a half-century ago.... A more recent release, an album from 1964 (60 years ago!) and a full concert round-out this tribute.
Dec 12th was pianist/big band composer-arranger-bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi's 95th birthday. Here's her last big band release, from 2007, with the SWR Big Band, Let Freedom Swing. Album info Discogs ; Wikipedia. She leads the band through charts of her classic big band compositions.
Toshiko Akiyoshi And The SWR Big Band, Let Freedom Swing, full album: YouTube ; Spotify
The band was based in Los Angeles from 1973-82, then New York thru 2003 (with several name variations), and released ~17 studio albums. This Down Beat magazine and Grammy info attests to the band's popularity (Wikipedia info/links):
The 1980 Grammy-nominated album Kogun was actually a 1974 release, and is the actual subject of today's post. You know, Friday 50s, an album from 50 years ago... 😁
"Koguneasily displays why Akiyoshi is such a treasure. It's a record
that is simultaneously driving, romantic, and experimental, seductive in
its implications and undeniable in its swing." Daniel Gioffre/AllMusic. Album Discogs ; Wikipedia. TABB Discogs ; Allmusic. Toshiko Allmusic ; Discogs. Lew Tabackin Allmusic ; Discogs.
Digital availability of TABB albums was sketchy until recently. Kogun is available on YouTube as a CD-rip in one large file. Several 1970s TALTBB albums are now on Spotify, so check your service.
Toshiko Akiyoshi - Lew Tabackin Big Band, Kogun, full album: YouTube rip ; Spotify
Friday 50s extended a decade takes us to 1964 and the album Toshiko Mariano And Her Big Band, Jazz In Japan Recorded In Tokyo. Released also as Toshiko And Modern Jazz, this featured a preview of big band excellence-to-come with 4 tunes, along with 3 piano trio tunes. Toshiko was married to jazz saxophonist Charlie Mariano(Wikipedia ; Discogs) at the time, and their daughter is vocalist/flutist Monday Michiru(Wikipedia ; Discogs).
Toshiko released her first album in 1952. She plans a 2025 tour of Japan with husband Lew, as a duo! Lew is a young man at only 84. My jazz heroes. 💕
Toshiko Akiyoshi, Toshiko And Modern Jazz, full album: YouTube ; Spotify
Trumpeter Clark Terry guests with the Toshiko Akiyoshi - Lew Tabackin Big Band at the 1975 Monterey Jazz Festival main stage. The bearded tenor sax soloist is Toshiko's husband Lew Tabackin. The video is aged and ends a bit abruptly, but the sound is absolutely fine.
To top off this love-fest 😍, here is a full show of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra from 1993, which was released on DVD as Strive For Jive. Toshiko makes a few comments. Video is dated but the sound is fine. 😎
Grammy-nominated saxophonist/composer/arranger/bandleader Remy Le Boeuf appears on at least two 2024 releases.
"Remy Le Boeufsees with a panoramic outlook as a bandleader, composer, and performer, and that fact rests at the heart of Heartland Radio." Dan Bilawsky/AllAboutJazz. This is the 3rd Assembly Of Shadows release.
Remy LeBoeuf's Assembly Of Shadows, Heartland Radio, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp
Remy conducts and guests with the Nordkraft Big Band (NBB) on their new album Strangers To Ourselves.
NBB is based in Aalborg – the fourth largest city in Denmark, and a cultural hub in the Northern Jutland region of the country. NBB has released ~9 albums since 2016.NBBwebsite.
Nordkraft Big Band With Remy Le Boeuf , Strangers To Ourselves, full album: YouTube ; Spotify
A post below celebrates Remy Le Boeuf's two recent big band albums that earned various Grammy Award nominations: 2021s Architecture of Storms and 2019s Assembly of Shadows. Remy's website ; Discogs ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic.
These are some 2024 big band/orchestral jazz releases that I won't get a chance to do a complete post on. Some are well-known jazz names. Generally less boisterous than my favorites, but might be right-up-your-alley, as they say. All are definitely worth a listen. 🎷
Tuesday 25s 😁 an album from a quarter-century ago....
Trumpeter Tom Harrell's 1999 big band album Time's Mirrorearned 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 DownBeatmagazine. Tom's website ; Wikipedia ; Allmusic ; Discogs.
Tom Harrell, Time's Mirror, full album: YouTube ; Spotify
"Buoyant up-tempo grooves, strong ensemble work and engaging arrangements make this an exemplary big band recording.
Trumpeter Michael Lamb began the band in 2003 and they have steadily developed to be the
top big band in the North East of England and one of the most exciting
in the UK.... Lamb's work is in demand for TV and he has recorded for films as diverse as Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. Joining the 19-strong band are special guests for each track, providing the album with the title." Neil Duggan/AllAboutJazz. Mainly instrumental, with 2 vocal tunes.
This is their ~3rd album since ~2021, with more live show downloads available at their website.
Strictly Smokin' Big Band, Strictly Smokin' & Friends, full album: YouTube ; Spotify
Saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Coffin combines
traditional West African music and rhythms,
spirituals, and blues inOnly The Horizon.
Coffin assembled over 40 acclaimed musicians to perform the contemporary
music, with a cast that intermingles through the tunes. JazzViews review.
"Not for nothing is the recording named Funky Frijoles.
The beans don’t just sprout, they crackle and explode with a rhythmic
pulse that is fired up by eloquent melodies and sublime harmonies.... each song brings thrillingly vibrant and lucid playing from performers in the Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band." (BCBB) Raul De Gama/LatinJazzNet.
BCBB is a driving 20-piece Latin-jazz big band led by NYC
percussionist, composer/arranger, and educator Victor Rendón. The
ensemble did a 6-year weekly-show residency in NYC recently. This is their 3rd album since 2016. BCBB website ; Discogs. Victor Rendon website.
Victor Rendón & Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band, Funky Frijoles, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp
Friday 50s 😁 an album from a half-century ago.... And a bonus new release also.
"Evans explored ten of Hendrix's compositions with his unique 19-piece unit, an orchestra that included two French horns, the tuba of Howard Johnson, three guitars, two basses, two percussionists and such soloists as altoist David Sanborn, Billy Harper on tenor and guitarist John Abercrombie. Evans' arrangements uplift many of Hendrix's
more blues-oriented compositions and create a memorable set that is
rock-oriented but retains the improvisation and personality of jazz." Scott Yanow/AllMusic. Album Discogs ; Wikipedia.
"Pianist, composer, arranger and band-leader Gil Evans is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion" Wikipedia. Evans released >40 albums from 1957-86, most with his orchestra, with 3 Grammy Awards and 13 more nominations.Discogs ; Allmusic.
The Gil Evans Orchestra, Plays The Music Of Jimi Hendrix, full album: YouTube ; Spotify
The Gil Evans Orchestra did a Monday night show at the club 'Sweet Basil' in NYC from 1982 thru Evans 1988 death and for awhile beyond as alumni. A 2014 alumni show has just been released, with what appears to be a nonet, includes 2 Hendrix tunes, and is a great tribute. AllAboutJazz review. Leader Pete Levin's website.
Gil Evans Remembered, Live At The Cutting Room NYC, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp
"Garland's compositions draw on a range of influences from jazz, classical,
pastoral, Turkish and free-form and are displayed in trio and orchestral
forms. His ability to compose, play and arrange musical narratives
makes him one of the most accomplished musicians in contemporary jazz." Neil Duggan/AllAboutJazz. Album Discogs. This is '3rd stream,' a jazz-classical mix.
Saxophonist Tim Garland has released ~25 albums since 1988. He was in Chick Corea's Origin, and played with guitarist Ralph Towner, drummer Bill Bruford and composer John Dankworth. Tim's website ; Discogs ; YouTube
The album is a collaboration with Turkish visual artistEsra Kizir Gokcen, and has its own website. I believe the piece below is 'The Forever Seed: Autumn 1,' and is ~3m on a side.
For another big band album based on art, see a post below for the Vanessa Perica Orchestra, The Eye Is The First Circle, inspired by a work from painter Lee Krasner.
Tbh, Tim just conducts on some of the symphonic tunes, which are the Britten Sinfonia or the London Studio Orchestra. Tim plays on the album with his Lighthouse Trio, with pianist Gwilym Simcock and percussionist Asaf Sirkis. Enjoy an album tune with the trio, and Esra Kizir Gokcen's art. 😎