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. 😎

Strictly Smokin' Big Band - 'Strictly Smokin' & Friends'

This one is sure to cure the Monday blues.... 😁

"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

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

Jeff Coffin – 'Only The Horizon'

Saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Coffin combines traditional West African music and rhythms, spirituals, and blues in Only The Horizon. Coffin assembled over 40 acclaimed musicians to perform the contemporary music, with a cast that intermingles through the tunes. JazzViews review.

Jeff Coffin is a member of the Dave Matthews Band, spent 14 years with the genre-defying Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, has 3 Grammy Awards with 9 more nominations, and has released >15 solo albums. Discogs ; website ; Allmusic

Jeff Coffin, Only The Horizon, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

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

Victor Rendón & Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band - 'Funky Frijoles'

"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

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

Here's a performance of the title tune.😎

The Gil Evans Orchestra - 'Plays The Music Of Jimi Hendrix' & Gil Evans Remembered - 'Live At The Cutting Room, NYC'

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

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

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

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

Tim Garland - 'Moment of Departure'

"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

Tim Garland, Moment of Departure, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

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

The album is a collaboration with Turkish visual artist Esra 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. 😎

Rob Parton's Ensemble 9+ - 'Relentless' & Two O'Clock Lab Band - 'Long Way On A Blues'

"Parton has produced another winner with Relentless, and fans of big-band jazz should rejoice accordingly." Troy Dostert/AllAboutJazz. Mainly instrumental, with 2 vocal tunes.

Trumpeter Rob Parton is a faculty member of North Texas University (NTU) since 2019. Before that he was Chicago-based and led the JazzTech Big Band, which released 7 albums from 1991 - 2007. Rob's website ; Discogs. Fyi, an album by the Fernando Huergo Big Band with the same title was recommended recently below.

Rob Parton's Ensemble 9+, Relentless, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

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

A post below is about NTU's One O'Clock Lab Band. Parton released the 2021 album Long Way On A Blues with NTU's Two O'Clock Lab Band (TLB), another renown NTU student class. The TLB has released ~18 albums since 1994. "The band takes to the charts like ducks to water..." Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz. Mainly instrumental, with 2 vocal tunes. Album Discogs. TLB Discogs ; Wikipedia

Two O'Clock Lab Band, Long Way On A Blues, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Enjoy the title tune 'Long Way On A Blues' played live in studio by the NTU TLB. 😎

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. 😎

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. 😎