Big Band / Swing - CD Reviews (348)
Scott Whitfield is multi-talented. He teaches, composes, arranges, sings and plays great trombone. Whitfield's vocals have been heard with many groups including the Pied Pi…
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It has always been my opinion that Clark Terry’s 1957 album Duke With a Difference was the greatest "tribute" recording ever made. That old Riverside LP still rests …
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Skip Heller’s Fake Book is anything but fake!Ten tracks on this CD bring back all the greatness of the masters’ hits, as Heller honors the artists he admir…
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The Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra has done it again with their second CD Living In The Moment an encore performance to the first CD Perspectives. To produce this …
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British tenor saxophonist Denys Baptiste and his large ensemble have crafted a hands-down winner here. His compositions and arrangements celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s …
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I can truly say that without question, John La Barbera's On The Wild Side CD is one powerful exclamation of jazz music that sets this recording apart from the rest and puts…
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Buddy Rich had one of the most exciting bands ever for many reasons: Buddy's charisma and technique, skilled musicians and, for more than fifteen years, John La Barbera's a…
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This disc contains a program which features five tracks drawn from the University of Miami's award-winning Concert Jazz Band archives of the nineties, followed by the debut…
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Composer/arranger Phil Kelly has some first call help on his latest effort, including Pete Christlieb, Gary Smulyan and Bill Ramsey on woodwinds, Andy Martin and Jay Thomas…
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25 Oct
More Never Recorded Arrangements for Benny Goodman, Vol. 2 by Bob Wilbur and the Tuxedo Big Band
As Big Band fans will guess, this CD is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Fletcher Henderson's Unrecorded Arrangements for Benny Goodman", released three ye…
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When one thinks of classical musical, centuries-old compositions by European masters usually come to mind. However, it’s often been said that jazz is "American classical mu…
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The jump blues bands of the 40’s and 50’s denote a period in jazz when music was meant to take you by the horns and lift you off the dance floor. With its blues drenched no…
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Turn harkens back to a period when swing was cool and sophisticated. Blend that with breezy tempos and sun-soaked notes and you have Doug MacDonald’s latest outing.
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Carla Bley assimilates slices of Americana into these snazzy, witty, and often- vociferous big band arrangements. The artist greatly benefits from her longtime musical asso…
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Christmas is joyous, colorful and full of surprises. So is this CD and that's why I'm reviewing it in March when it first came my way. This Connecticut-based big band has a…
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The Temple University Jazz Band exudes energy and confidence. Some of this can be credited to their youth.They also have a strong leader, trumpeter Terell Stafford who has …
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Vincent Henar from the band Fra Fra Sound maintains that Jazz was the first "world music" - though the music originated in America from the clash/co-mingling of cultures, J…
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The Henry Mancini Institute offers the most promising young musicians from across the world a chance to experience an intensive summer educational program that provides enc…
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The big band has an essential role to play in jazz, yet good big bands are hard to find in the USA. The Basie and Ellington bands still persist in one form or another but t…
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The Blue Wisp, a nationally known jazz club in Cincinnati, has been in operation since 1973. In 1977 the owner, a country-western fan, instituted a jazz policy to attract a…
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