CD Review: Andrew Linham Jazz Orchestra - Weapons of Mass Distraction

Call me old-fashioned, not just because I love the moonlight, but because I tend to go along with (most of the time) Duke's maxim that it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. 
From the opening bars of Screaming Ab Dabs I knew that, even without any do-wah-do-wah- do wahs, this had that swing.

21st-century swing that is - timeless swing. The rhythms may not be the chug chug chug of long ago but the essential pulse is there irrespective of the meter. As the man once said, "If you gotta ask..."

Sharking in the Chalet (don't ask!) has a TV cop show feel about it with some fine piano from Tom Millar, fluent soprano from Tommy Andrews and an ensemble licensed to kill.

I Arksque You This (don't ask!) I'm not sure what the question is but if it relates to Rosie Turton's trombone solo then the answer is A+.

Dinosaur Face (don't ask!) opens with nice, relaxed pub piano, Sam Warner playing smooth trumpet, a brief moment from Chris Saunders, less brief from Andrew Robb on bass before Rich Perks perks the ante up. The ensemble's now in full flight. Phil Meadows floats around on soprano with the other soloists punctuating, the drama mounts, the dinosaurs are on the attack - is civilisation doomed? No! Meadows' soprano sends them packing and they become extinct until Laura Jurd discovers one 65 million years later but that is another story...

Pyrrhic Victory (don't ask!) sounds, to my ears, what the Goodman 1938 band may have sounded like in 2018. Some clarinet going on (Johnny Chung?); Tom Green moves his slide around a bit - another triumph for composer/arranger Linham but isn't it about time he blew?
Big Bertha's Quarter to Twos (don't ask!) Is one of those numbers that suggest somebody has opened up a jazz club in Nashville. Linham may have been involved in the shootout. That Big Bertha she's quite a gal...
Apples Aren't the Only Fruit (don't ask!) Andrew rides again with some baritone playing that doesn't take any prisoners and neither does Perks with a great guitar blast before Saunders sets the slide on fire.
Don't Mention Janet (we won't). Riley Stone-Lonergan is the one whose lips are sealed he kick starts the most exciting ensemble of the album - maybe of the year, maybe ever!
Henchmen Live the Shortest Lives (don't ask). Miguel Gorodi plays lyrical trumpet - beautiful.
Waitress Winking (don't ask!) Linham and Rosie - a flirtation twixt sax and trombone? Another amazing arrangement.
I Remember Fenton (don't ask!). The, presumably, late Fenton brings out the emotive side of Riley-Lonergan as well as that of arranger/composer Linham.
This is an absolutely amazing big band album. Is it a big band or a jazz orchestra or maybe a new dimension?
I don't know if Andrew Linham used up his whole box of tricks on these compositions and arrangements but, if he's still got a few more boxes to open, then look out world!

Lance.
Tommy Andrews, Phil Meadows, Riley Stone-Lonergan, Johnny Chung, Andrew Linham (saxes); Barney Lowe, Miguel Gorodi, Sam Warner, Matt Roberts, Andy Hall (trumpets); Rosie Turton, Tom Green, Chris Saunders, Barney Medland (trombones); Tom Millar (piano); Rich Perks (guitar); Andrew Robb (bass); Dave Ingamells (drums).
PS: I'm not 100% on the soloists as gleaned from the sleeve but closse enough for jazz I guess.