Big Band / Swing - CD Reviews (348)
This three CD set is the centennial music collection of the great Tommy Dorsey. Dorsey was oftentimes thought of as the sentimental gentleman of swing and big band with …
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The Lost Tapes is not just another big band performance on DVD. The project was planned, staged and recorded on an elaborately designed sound-stage. Recorded only tw…
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Duke Ellington had the hard-earned luxury, and headache, of having his own full-time traveling orchestra as an outlet for his compositions. Although that is impossible in 2…
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As stated in the press kit, the producers of this project recovered the masters from a fire back in 1990, and proceeded to embark upon a restoration project. The histori…
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It's been a long time between recording dates for the Don Menza Big Band. Menza, a monster tenor player and creative arranger, led his own big band on the West Coast in the…
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Fellow jazz fans if you're feeling in the mood to shake rattle and roll (to borrow a phrase from rock) or otherwise swing a thing or two, take a listen to 16 Men & A…
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Was Duke Ellington one of THE GREATEST chefs in the crazily eclectic kitchen of American Music? Yet another long-unavailable chapter in Dukal lore has b…
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They called him "Wild Mab." (There's a story behind that fishpond tune!) Charlie Barnet was independently wealthy, much-married and larger than life. At 16 he was a bandlea…
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Fantazm is a fantastic high energy big band production with sizzling solos, great rhythm work and a brass section that delivers the big band so…
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2005 marks the 20th year anniversary of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra; taken from a May, 2004 concert at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild in Pittsburgh, the release o…
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Big band music has had its share of accolades and failures, too numerous at times to even discuss. However, the point is the successes prevail more often today with some…
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There have been many tributes to Benny Goodman over the years but here is one with a delightful difference. Singer Terry Blaine, clarinetist Allan Vaché and stride pianist …
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The monk who is the subject of this intriguing big band release is not Thelonious but the "Monk of Salzburg." This monk lived in the late Middle Ages, and is described in t…
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Did you ever wonder what is in a jazz name? How do great jazz giants,along with today's jazz stars make their name and be recognized as the new upcoming superstars? Did the…
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This exciting new release, the first by the Bill Holman band since Brilliant Corners in 1999, was recorded live at Stratospheric, a tribute to Maynard Ferguson hel…
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No grass grows under Mike Vax's feet. He appears as guest lead trumpet and soloist with symphony pops orchestras. He has performed on more than 70 albums. He does workshops…
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Longevity has its rewards in many aspects of life, however in music it just defines rhythm. A rhythm, flow if you will, that may never be reproduced or explained, so has…
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The Cellar restaurant, Jazz Club, owned by Cory Weeds, has been voted in the Top 100 Jazz clubs Worldwide category by Downbeat Magazine three times, and is often compared t…
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If you like your big band bold and brassy, then consider Calvin Owens’ "Keeping the Big Band Blues Alive." This is a terrific, upbeat, gorgeously performed recording tha…
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The fifties, the era of Elvis and Pat Boone, would not be the best of times for Woody Herman and big band music. It was scuffling time and the band joked about being the un…
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