LOUIE BELLSON

LOUIE BELLSON

LIVE IN NEW YORK

At 71, Louie Bellson on this CD displays more energy than most drummers half his age. Bellson not only takes solos on more than half the selections (including a lengthy workout on "Santos"), but he composed all seven originals; the only surprise is that Bellson decided to let some of his musical friends (including Matt Catingub, Tommy Newsom, and Bob Florence) arrange the charts instead of writing them himself. With concise solos from such sidemen as trumpeters Marvin Stamm and Glenn Drewes, tenorman Ted Nash, altoists Joe Roccisano and Steve Wilson, and trombonist Keith O'Quinn, Bellson's music is given perfectly suitable interpretations. But just in case, the equally ageless flügelhornist Clark Terry (at 75) stars on two songs, including the exquisite ballad "Blow Your Horn." With Louie Bellson constantly driving the ensembles, this is a big band disc well worth acquiring.

AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow

Harvie Swartz

Bass

Louie Bellson

Composer, Drums, Performer, Piano, Primary Artist

Clark Terry

Flugelhorn, Guest Artist

Ted Nash

Guest Artist, Sax (Tenor)

Marvin Stamm

Guest Artist, Trumpet

Patricia Willard

Liner Notes

Derek Smith

Piano

John Snyder

Producer

Joe Roccisano

Sax (Alto)

Steve Wilson

Sax (Alto)

Jack Stuckey

Sax (Baritone)

Scott Robinson

Sax (Tenor)

Herb Besson

Trombone, Trombone (Bass)

Michael Davis

Trombone

Larry Farrell

Trombone

Keith O'Quinn

Trombone

Danny Cahn

Trumpet

Glenn Drewes

Trumpet

Robert Millikan

Trumpet

Daryl Shaw

Trumpet

Darryl Shawl

Trumpet

FRED HO

Fred Ho 
and the GREEN MONSTER BAND

Asian-American baritone saxophonist Fred Ho has been a champion of freedom and expressionism in modern creative jazz for some time. A continuing battle with cancer has inspired him to assemble the Green Monster Big Band, with reference to the famed left-field wall at Fenway Park in Boston, but more directly related to the huge sound and diverse ideas this juggernaut ensemble represents. Ho is influenced by the '60s big bands, television or movie themes, and the psychedelic rock he grew up with, all present on this ambitious program. He's recruited heavyweight peers like saxophonists Bobby Zankel, Jim Hobbs, Salim Washington, and Hafez Modirzadeh, trumpeter Stanton Davis and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, contrabass trombonist Earl McIntyre, bassist Wes Brown, electric guitarist Mary Halvorson, and pianist Art Hirahara, among others to execute his larger-than-life vision. In the extreme at nearly 40 minutes total, "The Struggle for a New World Suite" in seven movements evokes a ton of emotional and rhythmic discourse, starting out sounding like "Smoke on the Water," with curious under-the-surface moods, probing funk, nice jazz, swirling horns in odd meters, stealth or deliberate casts, a free piece subtitled "Guerillas Gone Wild," and ends in a tango inference. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is less pronounced but punchy in five parts, with English and Persian lyrics, and the kind of distant organ or large horn insurgency you'd expect in a jazz interpretation of the Iron Butterfly magnum opus. A short and delightful "Spiderman Theme" contrasts, but the remaining tracks "Liberation Genesis" and "Blues to the Freedom Fighters" show more of Ho's intertwining of his compositional concepts with the great ability of his sidemen to solo. There's so much music here that it staggers the imagination, but give it a try and don't be afraid of this green monster, as it's a fairly friendly one, if a bit imposing.
AllMusic Review by Michael G. Nastos

Fred Ho

Arranger, Composer, Liner Notes, Member of Attributed Artist, Primary Artist, Producer, Sax (Baritone), Saxophone, Soloist

Wes Brown

Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric), Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist

David Harris

Contrabass Trombone, Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist

Taylor Ho Bynum

Cornet, Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist

Carin Fortin

Design

Royal Hartigan

Drum Set, Member of Attributed Artist

Abraham Gomez-Delgado

Guest Artist, Soloist, Vocals

Joseph Yoon

Art Hirahara

Member of Attributed Artist, Piano, Soloist

Jim Hobbs

Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Alto), Soloist

Bobby Zankel

Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Alto), Soloist

Hafez Modirzadeh

Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Tenor), Soloist

Salim Washington

Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Tenor), Soloist

Richard Harper

Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone

Bob Pilkington

Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone

Marty Wehner

Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone

Stanton Davis, Jr.

Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trumpet

CHICO O'FARRILL

CHICO O’FARRILL

CUBAN BLUES

For any and all Latin jazz collectors, casual or serious, this is a fabulous deal, for it gathers together no less than six exceedingly rare Chico O'Farrill Clef and Norgran 10" albums, plus one under Machito's name, onto a slimline two-CD set. It will also come as a revelation to anyone who might scoff at anything associated with the 1950s mambo craze, for these discs reveal O'Farrill as a sophisticated, even daring arranger/composer who reached beyond merely providing a beat for dancers. Many of these charts -- whether for the brief, dance-oriented Latin numbers; ultra-familiar standards like "Malaguena" and "The Peanut Vendor"; or jazz tunes -- are loaded with intricate figures and striking harmonies obviously gleaned from classical study, all crisply executed with a brash, shiny edge by his Afro-Cuban groups and bands staffed by American jazzmen. Occasionally, he even conjures a delicate, classical ambience from a number like "Angels' Flight" (named after Los Angeles' legendary downtown funicular). The apotheosis of O'Farrill's experiments are his two full-blown, groundbreaking Afro-Cuban jazz suites. The first features Flip Phillips and the redoubtable Charlie Parker as soloists within the Machito band, and the second is even bolder in its zigzag journey through the classical, Latin, and jazz camps. Yet for all of his erudition, O'Farrill never forgets to ask for madly percolating Afro-Cuban grooves from his rhythm teams -- which clinches the deal for any Latin music fan.

AllMusic Review by Richard S. Ginell

MOONBAG

NTSU - 1960

MOONBAG

Morgan Powell

If anyone uses the word ‘moonbag’ to refer to really avant garde, experimental and even outside arrangements, well here is where it came from. The beginning of the jazz education dynasty at North Texas began here, and trombone player arranger Morgan Powell was in at the beginning.  He put this tune in the book while a student at North Texas. 

Saxophones:
Archie Wheeler, Lead Alto
Allen Solganick, Alto/Tenor
Jerry Keys, Tenor/Flute
Ray Kireilis, Tenor/Baritone
Herb Porter, Baritone/Bass Clarinet

Trombones:
Morgan Powel, Lead
Dee Barton
William Barton
Larry Moser
Jerry Schulze, Bass Trombone

Trumpets:
Marv Stamm, Lead
Ron Towell
John Crews
Tom Wirtel
John Inglis

Lanny Steele, Piano

Toby Guynn, Bass

Paul Guerrero, Drums

Don Gililland, Guitar

Extra Players for Special Instruments:
Ken Fears, Flute
David Irving, Horn
Bill Pickering, Horn
John LaForge, Tuba

DEJAN PETROVIC

DEJAN PETROVICBIG BAND

Here is something pretty different. It’s worth listening to I think.

Check out the ‘Trombone Section”

Biography

Dejan Petrovic, the son and successor of the most famous Serbian trumpet player Mica Petrovic, was born in 1985 in the village of Duboko, near Uzice. Dejan and his brother Darko belong to the fourth generation of trumpet players in their family of music manufacturers.The first one to start playing the trumpet was Dejan’s great grandfather Tanasije and since then the skill has been passed down from father to son. Tanasije’s successor was Danilo and then his son Mica, who deserves credit for the world fame of this instrument. Dejan, a young trumpet player, won prestigious awards as well as hearts of the audience wherever he performed. Success followed success until finally he surpassed the achievements of his father at the competition in Guca in 2006, winning the “Master’s Letter”, the most prominent award at the competition. And so the twenty-year-old from the village of Duboko went down in history as the youngest Master of the Trumpet and as an artist with a potential to win the world in the same manner. The name Dejan Petrovic became a synonym for traditional Serbian music everywhere in the world, often combined with modern elements and adjusted for everybody’s ear. Here it comes to fusion sound of traditional instruments, brass band and other instruments that are the opposite of it, like a compound of trumpets and sound distortion on electric guitar. As in each fusion, releases great energy, and it is not difficult to recognize that in this case. Until now, he recorded 4 CDs, in addition to original music by working with his band, the repertoire have a multitude of foreign processing and international tracks whose interpretation is very authentic, thanks to the concept of the band, or combination of instruments that make it. He participated in all major, national, music festivals and many times represented Serbia at various international fairs, sports and cultural events, festivals, and always with great success. In a word – The Ambassador of the Serbian Trumpet.

THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL BIG BAND

Bulgarian National Radio Big Band

50 Years of the Bulg. National Radio Big Band

Led by former Don Ellis piano player and Bulgrian national Milcho Leviev

Before the Big Band was created original Bulgarian music was unheard of, I mean popular and dance music. Even the songs bands would sing in restaurants were performed in the original language, without translation. When the Big Band was set up, the BNR Popular and Dance Music department channeled its efforts towards creating its repertoire.”

That is how Villy Kazasyan, conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band  from 1963 until 1996 begins his story. The most prestigious and longest surviving jazz orchestra in this country came into being in 1960 in an almost completely foreign language musical environment. The very fact of its birth provoked the creative imagination of Bulgarian composers who started creating popular and dance music especially for its repertoire. In its first years, a string of conductors succeeded one another – Jules Levi, Dimitar Ganev, Georgi Ganev, Emil Georgiev and Milcho Leviev.

A real watershed in the history of the BNR Big Band is the period when its conductor was Villy Kazasyan. Before taking over he was Big Band pianist and witnessed all processes that accompanied its first steps. The recording of his voice from the BNR Golden Fund audio archives we are offering you was made in 1998 but takes us back to the beginning. A prominent composer and music arranger, author of pop and jazz pieces, film soundtracks and music for children, the Maestro offers us a keen insight into the development of Bulgarian popular music, and more specifically the music of the BNR Big Band in its infant years.

“That was how the first Bulgarian instrumental pieces in this genre were born. Still, there was a tradition back then in composing what was known as serious music. Many composers tried their hand at writing big band music – some succeeded, others not so much. It was more difficult when it came to songs, but things soon changed. Probably because they came from a classical music background, many composers were apt to compose really complex pieces. And sometimes there would be misunderstandings in the way they were performed – some could not get through to the audience. Perhaps there were people who thought it was beneath their dignity to write things that were simple. To my mind, it is the simple things that are often most difficult to accomplish. There was also a trend to write folklore-style music and the results were rarely any good.”

Notwithstanding the “growing pains” the beginning had been laid and the processes were going ahead. The orchestra was quickly turning into a national institution.

After Villy Kazasyan, the baton was passed over to Yanko Miladinov and these past few years – to Anthony Donchev. In its 54-year long history the orchestra has made thousands of recordings for the BNR. It has taken part in all pop and jazz forums in the country and festivals abroad and has toured extensively. For dozens of years it was the principal orchestra accompanying performers from Bulgaria and abroad at the legendary pop song contest, the Golden Orpheus. Renowned singers of several generations took the first steps in their career with the BNR Big Band – Lilly Ivanova, Yordanka Hristova, Bogdana Karadocheva, Vassil Naidenov and many more. So much more can be said about the band’s instrumentalists, composers and arrangers because to this day its appeal to musicians of different generations has never waned. 

MODERN ART ORCHESTRA

Modern Art Orchestra

Circular

(complete recording)

MODERN ART ORCHESTRA

From Bartok’s Homeland

Lively, snappy, intuitive and captivating. The symphonic lineup of Modern Art Orchestra is a unique musical formation, not only in the Hungarian music scene. Since its forming in 2005, Modern Art Orchestra has been a melting pot for the artistry of highly qualified young musicians in Hungary’s classical music and jazz scene. Founder and director of the band, Hungary’s leading trumpeter Kornél Fekete-Kovács established the first line of musicians with the dream of operating a contemporary orchestra which would focus on playing compositions by some of the best contemporary creative musicians of the country. Through its first years of activity, Modern Art Orchestra received masterpieces from composers like Péter Eötvös. But at that level, the career had only begun.

Since the first chapter of its story, MAO has gained the status of an internationally renowned orchestra that is engaged in many genres of music including jazz, pop, classical or contemporary ensemble. It has had countless successful projects together with the world’s leading musicians from Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman or Wallace Roney through Rhoda Scott, Julian Joseph, Erika Miklósa, Mike Garson or Silje Neergard to Mezzoforte, New York Voices or Harlem Gospel Choir – just to name a few. Modern Art Orchestra is also proud of the engagement with one of the doyens of the world’s film music: Ennio Morricone who had chosen our orchestra for his world tour in 2014. The concert series took place in 12 cities throughout Europe from Paris to Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Brussels or Amsterdam. Last year MAO had a 6 part concert tour in the United States. This year we organized a European Tour and we had our first concert ever in Israel.

Modern Art Orchestra’s repertory contains more than 25 hours of music uniquely composed for, dedicated to and premiered by the orchestra. It began its career with being a crossover formation that plays mostly contemporary compositions, and provides stage appearance to young performing talents thus being a creative artistic workshop for a handful of carefully chosen young musicians. Now after over ten years of its ambitious activity, the band has gained its status as a creative ensemble with fresh and unique style that is sought after by many of the world’s leading artists as an accompanying partner to their latest projects.

JEFF HEDBERG

Jeff Hedberg & C11

Sweet Georgia Brown

I mentioned this group a little earlier in relation to Terry's post of Marty Paich. It is Paich's arrangement done for Mel Torme. Chicago group C11 lead by Jeff Hedberg does a great job here.

Nice Work?If You Can Get It - Pages Of Paich, : Jeff Hedberg (vcl,ldr) acc by Joe Lill (tp-1) Kirk Garrison (tp-2) Nick Drozdoff (tp) Steve Duncan (tb) Rich Armandi (tu) Lisa Taylor (fhr) Jarod Bufe (ts-3) Brett Palmer (ts-4) Rich Moore (as) Jonathan Edwards (bar-5) Ted Hogarth (bar-6) Brian Toms (bar-7) Ken Spurr (p-8) Joe Pohcastro (b) Darren Scorza (d)

LEW ANDERSON

 

LEW ANDERSON

Scott Whitfield

My One And Only Love

Check out the young Scott Whitfield

Live performances by Lew Anderson's Big Band in New York City.  Filmed at the Red Blazer Too and at Birdland, these videos document one of America's little-known big band arrangers, leading his All American Big Band.  Lew's band performed nearly every Friday night, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm for many years in the 1990's.  Many of New York's leading instrumentalists played in Lew's band.  Video was shot by Bob Biondo.

Why Did I Choose You

ESSENTIALLY ELLINGTON

Garfield Band 1 

Performance at 2016 Essentially Ellington

More from Lincoln Center , Garfield High School

Seattle, Washington

COUNT BASIE

Show of the Week - Count Basie and his Orchestra (1965)

From BBC4

45Minutes of the greatest

ESSENTIALLY ELLINGTON

ESSENTIALLY ELLINGTON 2016
Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble
Sain Louis Blues

This year, the 21st annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival once again brought top ensembles from all over the United States to perform at the House of Swing in New York City. 

Jazz at Lincoln Center is committed to instilling a broader understanding of Duke Ellington’s music, which lies at the very heart of America’s 20th-century musical heritage and the core of the rich canon of jazz music. That’s why we  created the Essentially Ellington program (EE) during the 1995–96 school year to make Ellington’s music accessible to as many high school musicians as possible and to support the development of their schools’ music programs.

Tucson Jazz Institute- COTTON CLUB STOMP

Another performance from Essentially Ellington

And check out the bass saxophone solo

Duke Ellington’s music is at the very heart of America’s 20th-century musical heritage and the core of the rich canon of jazz music. Jazz at Lincoln Center, committed to instilling a broader understanding of this music, created the Essentially Ellington program (EE) during the 1995–96 school year to make Ellington’s music accessible to as many high school musicians as possible and to support the development of their schools’ music programs.

CHARLES MINGUS

Mingus Big Band

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

AllMusic Review by Michael G. Nastos

The MBB has become the most important and virile "ghost band" of them all. Their roaring, swinging spirit echoes the late bassist/composer/bandleader in ways that compare favorably to when Mingus was alive. The musicianship, rotating as it tends to, is consistently and outrageously outstanding, the new arrangements of classic Mingus tunes are fresh and vibrant as ever, and solos absolutely riveting. For this time around the band includes lead trumpeter Earl Gardner, lead alto/soprano saxophonist Alex Foster, and prominent soloists include tenor saxophonists Mark Shim, Seamus Blake, and John Stubblefield; trumpeters Randy Brecker and Alex Sipiagin; baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber; trombonist Conrad Herwig; alto saxophonists Bobby Watson and Vincent Herring; and arrangements by Michael Mossman, Sy Johnson, Howard Johnson, and Steve Slagle. Mingus himself speaks during the introductory "It Was a Lonely Day in Selma, Alabama," then the band chants and claps to "Freedom," certainly a prolific tone setter. "Haitian Fight Song" has bassist Boris Kozlov leading the angst-riddled charge, the piece played to perfection. The classic ode to Lester Young "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is accented by tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake's patient, poignant solo and the band's pristine reading of Sy Johnson's new chart. "Don't Let It Happen Here," with its tango-flavored fanfare and son Eric Mingus' recitation, rivals the original. "Meditations for a Pair of Wire Cutters" has all the dynamic stop-start Mingus traits, "Pussycat Dues," is a pretty straight by comparison blues, "Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me" has Eric Mingus returning on the slow blues that still has relevance today as he shouts "don't let 'em drop it, stop it, be-bop it," and the 16-minute finale "Little Royal Suite" is so Ellingtonian in flavor, a full-bore swinger that lets the band, especially soloists Sipiagin, Stubblefield, and Herring running wild out of their cages. To interpret Mingus' music so faithfully and with such great authenticity and zeal is not an easy task. Another triumph for this ensemble, easily a Top Five jazz album of 1999, an essential purchase. Much more could be written or said, but Mingus and the band speak much louder than words.

Charles Mingus

Bass, Composer, Guest Artist, Leader, Liner Notes, Narrator, Performer, Primary Artist, Reeds, Vocals

Boris Koslov

Bass, Rhythm

Andy McKee

Bass, Rhythm

Boris Kozlov

Bass

Johnathan Blake

Drums, Rhythm

Gene Jackson

Drums, Rhythm

Alex Sipiagin

Flugelhorn, Primary Artist, Trumpet

Alex Foster

Flute, Primary Artist, Reeds, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)

Conrad Herwig

Flute, Sax (Alto), Soprano, Trombone

Dannie Richmond

Guest Artist, Narrator, Performer, Primary Artist

Jaki Byard

Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist

Charles McPherson

Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist

Lonnie Hillyer

Narrator, Performer, Primary Artist, Trumpet

Charles MacPherson

Narrator, Sax (Alto)

Akili Jamal Mshauri Haynes

Narrator, Trombone

Mike Shim

Performer, Primary Artist

John Hicks

Piano, Rhythm

Dave Kikoski

Piano, Rhythm

Vincent Herring

Primary Artist, Reeds, Sax (Alto)

Seamus Blake

Primary Artist, Reeds, Sax (Tenor)

John Stubblefield

Primary Artist, Reeds, Sax (Tenor)

Randy Brecker

Primary Artist, Trumpet

Earl Gardner

Primary Artist, Trumpet

Bobby Watson

Reeds, Sax (Alto)

Mark Shim

Reeds, Sax (Tenor)

Ronnie Cuber

Reeds

Alex Haynes

Sax (Alto)

David Taylor

Trombone, Trombone (Bass), Tuba

Eric Mingus

Vocals

KEITH KARNS

Keith Karns Big Band

An Eye On The Future

It's hard to know in advance exactly what to expect from a big-band album whose title is An Eye on the Future. Luckily, the horizon as leader Keith Karns sees it is rhythmically persuasive, harmonically alluring, acknowledges an indispensable bond to the past and swings like crazy. On this album, it's a tomorrow that also sets aside ample room for the prodigious talents of tenor saxophonist Rich Perry who solos on the first five of its seven numbers. 

In summarizing the recording's purpose, Karns alludes to a statement by the late drummer Mel Lewis: "We are concerned with the future through the past." To that end, he has drawn inspiration from such renowned yet dissimilar composers and arrangers as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer and Jim McNeely, among others, expressing the hope that "this tradition can be heard alongside our own voice." Indeed it can, in a series of lustrous charts that honor jazz tradition while exploring new areas of expression. 

Karns and the ensemble open with the equivocally named "Two or Three Birds with One Bird," which apparently has nothing to do with the Bird also known as Charlie Parker but instead salutes "happy melodies" by presenting one of its own, a carefree theme that seems perfectly suited to Perry's evocative tenor voice (as do all the others on which he is heard). "An Eye on the Future," whose chorale-like preface clearly brings to mind modernists like Jones and Brookmeyer, was written by Karns when he learned he was to become a father for the first time, while the well-grooved "Thursday Club" is his homage to drummer Art Blakey and the celebrated Jazz Messengers. 

Perry is the lone soloist on "Thursday Club," as he is on "Two or Three Birds," "Future" and Karns' outside-the-box arrangement of the standard "Like Someone in Love." Perry shares solo space with trumpeter Daniel Matthews, trombonist Connor Eisenmenger and drummer Connor Kent on the upbeat "Law of Contagion," then steps aside to make room for Karns (flugelhorn) and alto Devin Eddleman on yet another anomalous chart, this one on the Vincent Youmans standard "Without a Song" (on which Karns reshapes the familiar melody and inserts elements of Stravinsky's Petrouchka), and the brisk finale, "Crowd Control," whose genesis is in itself an interesting story (yes, it is included in the liner notes). Suffice to say the chart is based on Don Redman's 1926 composition "Stampede" and once again showcases Karns' nimble flugelhorn. 

Sliding past Karns and Perry for the moment, it should be noted that the (presumably) Dallas-based ensemble is outstanding, sprinting easily through Karns' often strenuous arrangements with no discernible unease or miscues. If this does indeed represent the future, it is one that jazz aficionados should welcome with eyes wide open.

Personnel: Keith Karns: leader, composer, arranger, flugelhorn; Jake Boldman: trumpet; Michael Campagna: trumpet; Kevin Swaim: trumpet; Daniel Matthews: trumpet; Stuart Mack: trumpet; Devin Eddleman, Alex Fraile, Aaron Hedenstrom, Brian Horton, Spenser Liszt: woodwinds; Carl Lundgren: trombone; Connor Eisenmenger: trombone; Matt Corrigan: trombone; Chris Sharpe: trombone; Kenny Davis: trombone; Horace Bray: guitar; Colin Campbell: piano; Jack Helsley: bass; Connor Kent: drums. Featured soloist – Rich Perry, tenor sax (1-5). Guest conductor – Garrett Wingfield (6).