Big Band / Swing - CD Reviews (348)
In 1941 the Mills Novelty Company introduced the Panoram, a combination movie projector and juke box. When patrons inserted a dime, they were treated to a low budget three …
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Traditional big band arranging focuses on give and take between sections - trumpets, trombones and reeds - with rhythm support. Spiced with counterpoint and polyrhythms, th…
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Here’s one of the most-satisfying swing albums in quite a while. George Gee is a native New Yorker and has led a big band for three decades. His swing outfit delighted b…
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I first heard Maynard at the Snowdon Theatre in my hometown of Montreal when that slight young teenager was a sideman in brother Percy's Victory Serenaders. By age 17 he ha…
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The first few bars of "All the Cats Join In" rolled out featuring Dan Block’s clarinet and I oooed to nobody in particular, ‘This is going to be a good CD.’ George Gee a…
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April 2007 - Bob Florence is like an on-call surgeon who is regularly paged to resuscitate the big band sound. With his long-time unit Limited Edition, he keeps the notes o…
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Bob Florence has been a consistently innovative and surprising arranger, even as he has worked in Hollywood’s studios, worked as musical director for the likes of Julie And…
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Wayne Bergeron may be the most-heard trumpet player you’ve never heard of. He is a prolific lead trumpet player and soloist in the Los Angeles music scene and his trumpe…
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For half a century Bob Florence has been writing and arranging hard swinging, inventive big band arrangements. His Limited Edition band is stocked with a deep roster of …
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Arranger Gary Urwin has recorded two albums with his Jazz Orchestra, which consists of well-known Southern California musicians, and now his third is being released on Summ…
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If this is your introduction to the European Youth Jazz Orchestra (EYJO), don't let the name fool you. It is not a student band. The players are indeed young; they must not…
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Just one listen and I had to review the New England Jazz Ensemble's third CD, the 2003 release, A Cookin' Christmas, even though it was March 2004. An exciting band …
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The recording's title track, "Metropole," is the opening song: a rich, full sounding catchy rhythm introduces the band, a nice horn arrangement with a funky pulsating beat,…
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Don’t you just appreciate pleasant surprises? Especially musical ones! There’s nothing like stumbling across an artist who is fresh, original, filled with musical integr…
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Listening to the Lamont Jazz Orchestra’s fourth recording, LJO ’06, I pine for those days when I played in the jazz band in high school. There was nothing I liked…
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Colleges and universities are the last cultural bastions for the transference of knowledge from one generation to another. Where else can one go to hear and learn about …
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Marilyn Harris’ Round Trip stands out because it features a big band sound and spirit but with fresh, original songs. The vocalist has writing credits on 10 of the d…
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Glenn Miller and Si Zentner, with their orchestras, share billing on Live Jazz From Club 15, part of a series of CDs made from re-discovered tapes of live broadcasts…
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Ginny Lynn is a Toronto area jazz singer who’s been around long enough to know some of the artists whose songs she sings, personally. That includes the …
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This unlikely CD arrived this week as part of the Request Records Jazz From Club15 series. While the Lombardo band was arguably one of the most successful of the big…
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