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. 😎

Jihye Lee Orchestra - 'Infinite Connections' & 'Daring Mind' & 'April'

"Infinite Connections is remarkable contemporary jazz with a slight yet definitive Korean accent, marvelously written by Lee and impeccably performed by the orchestra." Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz.

Jihye Lee is a Korean-born, Brooklyn-based composer, arranger, and conductor. This is her 3rd big band album since 2017, and all 3 are worth a listen. She studied with Jim McNeely at the Manhattan School of Music, and her co-producer is Grammy-winning composer/arranger Darcy James Argue. A post below is on the 2024 Grammy-nominated album Darcy James Argue's Secret Society Maximum Dynamic Tension.

Jihye Lee Orchestra, Infinite Connections, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

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

"...a buoyant drama, a roaming investigation that swells and swales in all the right places," wrote Mike Jurkovic/AllAboutJazz about her 2021 album Daring Mind, which was Best Jazz Album at the Korean Music Awards.

Jihye Lee Orchestra, Daring Mind, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

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

“Thought-provoking and gut-wrenching all at once,” wrote Dan Bilawsky/AllAboutJazz about her 2017 debut album April.

Jihye Lee Orchestra, April, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

Here is a studio performance of the first tune from Infinite Connections, with trumpet guest Ambrose Akinmusire. 😎

Bill Watrous - 'Manhattan Wildlife Refuge' & Gary Urwin Jazz Orch - 'A Beautiful Friendship' & 'Flying Colors'

Friday 50s 😁 an album from a half-century ago.... With a bonus new and 2014 release.

"Manhattan Wildlife Refuge and its follow-up, The Tiger of San Pedro, are the only two recordings of trombonist Bill Watrous' impressive big band of the mid-'70s." Scott Yanow/Allmusic. Album Discogs.

Trombonist/composer/arranger Bill Watrous was active in New York in the 60s - 70s, with a stint for the Merv Griffin Show and CBS. He moved to Los Angeles in the 80s, and continued to play on occasional small and big band albums to go with steady studio-work. Sam Houston State University (Texas) renamed its 66-year running jazz festival the SHSU Bill Watrous Jazz Festival 14 years ago, with an early April date. Bill's Discogs ; Allmusic.

Bill Watrous, Manhattan Wildlife Refuge, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Bill is featured on several Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra (GUJO) albums. Here's Bill's last big band recorded performance, from 2014.

Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra, A Beautiful Friendship, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

The YouTube link above includes the 2024 album 

Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra, Flying Colors, so here's the Spotify link also.

"Pianist Gary Urwin leads a swinging big band through some clever charts and rich solos brought on by an A-list of guests including the late Carl Saunders/tp, Wayne Bergeron/tp, Pete Christlieb/ts." George Harris/JazzWeekly. GUJO Discogs

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

Steven Feifke & Bijon Watson's Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra - Complete Concert YouTube

Pianist, big band composer/arranger, Grammy Award winner Steven Feifke posted this concert earlier this year, with his and colleague Bijon Watson's Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.

From the New Trier Jazz Festival, Gaffney Auditorium, New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL, USA, on 3 February 2024.

The band: Reeds - Alexa Tarantino, Christopher McBride, Tom Luer, Kirsten Edkins, Lauren Sevian. Trumpets - Bijon Watson, Derrick Gardner, Janelle Finton, Danny Jonokuchi. Trombones - John Fedchock, Javier Nero, Nick Finzer. Bass - Julianne Gralle. Guitar - Will Brahm. Piano - Steven Feifke. Bass - Dan Chmielinski. Drums - Jeff Hamilton.

A post below celebrates Steven Feifke’s last 3 big band albums and Grammy Award: Catalyst ; Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra (2023 Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album) ; Kinetic.

Two of Feifke’s band-members released excellent big band albums discussed below:

Trombonist Javier Nero Kemet: The Black Land.

Trumpeter Derrick Gardner Still I Rise. 😎

Fernando Huergo Big Band - 'Relentless' & 'The Possibility Of Change'

"There are few wasted moments on Relentless, which is a marvelous tour de force for the band, its eloquent soloists and especially Huergo's creative and finely tuned compositions and arrangements." Jack Bowers/AllAboutJazz.

This is Argentine bassist Fernando Huergo's ~12th album since 1998, his 2nd with a big band. A New England (USA) resident, he is a faculty member at the New England Conservatory and Berklee College Of Music. Discogs.

Fernando Huergo Big Band, Relentless, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

Have a listen to his really nice 2020 album after you enjoy the new one.

Fernando Huergo Big Band, The Possibility Of Change, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

This is on the Big Band 2020 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

Here's nice studio performance of the first tune from Relentless. 😎

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. 😎

Joe Clark Big Band - 'Black And Cardinal'

Joe Clark is a Chicago-based trumpeter, composer and arranger. His compositions have been performed by Yo Yo Ma, Kurt Elling and the WDR Big Band, to name a few. Black and Cardinal is his 4th album since 2013, and 2nd with a big band. The only complaint - it could be longer... Joe's Discogs.

Joe Clark Big Band, Black And Cardinal, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

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

The One O'Clock Lab Band - 'Lab 2024'

3rd (or 1st) of 3 posts about jazz big bands comprised of young musicians. The other 2 are a short scroll below.

The class projects of the University of North Texas College of Music 'One O’Clock Lab Band' (OLB) have 7 Grammy Award nominations since the 1970s, from a library of >80 critically-acclaimed albums. Their 2024 release is Lab 2024.

"The OLB evolved from an extracurricular stage band founded in 1927 into a curricular laboratory dance band in 1947 when North Texas began its jazz degree program.... The OLB is noted for its exceptional individual musicianship and tight ensemble performance.... Among others, the university harbors the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson Jazz Libraries." Wikipedia ; website ; YouTube ; Discogs (incomplete)

The One O'Clock Lab Band, Lab 2024, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

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

The vid is not an album tune, but a nice performance of a tune by guest drummer Alison Miller. 😎

Saint Andreu Jazz Band - 'Jazzing' series

2nd of 3 posts about jazz big bands comprised of young musicians.

Joan Chamorro is a Spanish jazz saxophone, clarinet, flute, cornet, and double bass player. He is a tireless youth jazz educator. In 2006 he founded the Sant Andreu Jazz Band (SAJB), for 7 to 21 year olds, in Barcelona, Spain. The band has released ~ 27 albums in their Jazzing series since 2009. The albums are ~straight-ahead big band jazz, with ~3/4 instrumental tunes. Saxophonist Scott Hamilton is a frequent collaborator. Here's their 2024 releases:

Saint Andreu Jazz Band, Jazzing 14 Vol. 1, full album: YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

Saint Andreu Jazz Band, Jazzing 14 Vol. 2, full album: Spotify ; Bandcamp

These are on the Big Band 2024 playlist at Spotify/Jazz Todayish.

Joan Chamorro has released many small-band albums, with SAJB members and Scott Hamilton. Joan's website (& SAJB); YouTube (& SAJB); Discogs 

The SAJB's Bandcamp (& Joan) ; Discogs (incomplete)

The SAJB guests on Joan Chamorro Presenta Koldo Munne listed in a post below.

Here's a nice taste of what the kids can do, with a tune from Vol.1 that features guest Gerry Lopez on alto sax and Koldo Munne on baritone sax. The kids are alright! 😎

Sam Rivers - 'Crystals'

Retrospective 1974, with an album from a half-century ago… (Friday 50s 😁)

Thom Jurek/AllAboutJazz: “It's difficult to note in the 21st century just how forward-thinking this avant-garde big band was, and how completely innovative saxophonist Sam Rivers' compositions are…. It is an underrated masterpiece and among the most rewarding and adventurous listening experiences in the history of jazz.” A piano-less big band (Wikipedia for correct musicians).

This was Rivers’ ~6th of >30 albums from 1965 to 2005. Sam’s big band work earned him 2 Grammy nominations. Discogs.

Sam Rivers, Crystals, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

Two of Sam's Grammy-nominated albums with the Rivbea Orchestra are posted below, for 'Retrospective 1999 - albums from a quarter-century ago...' Inspiration and Culmination.

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

Frost Jazz Orchestra - 'Historic Landmarks Of Miami: Live At Gusman Concert Hall 2024' & 'Live At Gusman Concert Hall 2023'

1st (or 3rd) of 3 posts about jazz big bands comprised of young musicians. 

The Frost Jazz Orchestra is a component of the Frost School Of Music at the University Of Miami (Florida, USA). The orchestra has won Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards often over the last decade, and often plays with jazz-great guests. Composer/arranger/trumpeter Dr. John Daversa is resident director, and Chair Of Studio Music And Jazz. This album documents a fine performance from April 2024.

John Daversa has over a dozen big band and small group releases as a leader or co-leader since 1994. He's won 3 Grammy Awards with 6 nominations. John's website ; YouTube ; Discogs ; ~monthly Podcast.

Frost Jazz Orchestra, Historic Landmarks Of Miami: Live At Gusman Concert Hall 2024, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

The orchestra's first album, from 2023, might be even better:

Frost Jazz Orchestra, Live At Gusman Concert Hall 2023, full album: YouTube ; Spotify

2024 is on the Big Band 2024 and Jazz Best Albums 2024 playlists, and 2023 is on Big Band 2023 and the Jazz Best Albums 2023 playlists at Spotify/Jazz Todayish. 😎

Here's a nice performance of a 2024 album tune:

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.  😎