(Review by Lance)
The big bands will never come back - we're told! In actual fact, they've never really been away. True, the days of dinner-jacketed ensembles in hotels, dancehalls and concert halls are no longer a commercial proposition, nevertheless, the excitement of playing in a big band still proves irresistible for both student and star and audience. There's a thrill, playing in a large ensemble, that's beyond compare with (almost) anything else.
The challenge of mastering the arrangement, wallowing in the harmonies, soloing on top of it all, the excitement when it all gels, the shared deprecation when it goes wrong, safe in the knowledge that next time you'll nail it.
Sammy Nestico, Maria Schneider and Gordon Goodwin stand on the podium when it comes to contemporary big band composers and arrangers - justifiably so. However, anyone who has climbed the ladder of success knows that their position isn't impregnable and that there are always others snapping at their heels and, in this case, much higher than their heels...
Pete McGuinness is one of the comers. Along For the Ride - the band's third album - puts his and their hats firmly in the ring when polling time comes around over at DownBeat.
The trombonist-leader cut his chops with the legacy bands of Buddy Rich and Woody Herman as well as with bands led by Lionel Hampton and Jimmy Heath. Various stints with the aforementioned Schneider Orchestra, study with Bob Brookmeyer and his developing trombone technique put him in the position to form a band that can now hold its own with any big band in New York City which, translated, means any band in the world.
And it doesn't end there. Listen to his vocal on May I Please Come In? Look over your shoulders Bennett/Bublé. Most of the personnel listed have solos to die for. Owens and Kadleck don't solo but provide the split lead trumpet a big band depends on. At the other end, Jeff Nelson's bari provides a Carney-like foundation.
If I'm ever able to persuade our local big band aficionado, Tony Eales, to review albums, this one has his name on it!
Lance.
Put on a Happy Face; You Must Believe in Spring; Old Roads; Point of Departure; Aftermath; May I Come in?; Jive Samba; Who Cares?; One For the Maestro.
Pete McGuinness (trombone/vocals/leader/composer/arranger); Bill Mobley, Jon Owens, Tony Kadleck (trumpet) Chris Rogers (flugelhorn); Matt Haviland, Mark Patterson, Bruce Eidem (trombone); Jeff Nelson (bass trombone); Dave Pietro (soprano/alto sax); Mark Phoneuf (alto sax); Tom Christensen, Ron Middleton (tenor sax); Dave Reikenberg (bari sax); Mike Holober (piano); Andy Euloy (bass); Scott Neumann (drums).
Available June 7 - Summit Records.
1 comment :
Agreed. A very exciting and varied outing, to my ears, surpassed this year, only by "Hiding Out", the stunning big band recording led by Mike Holober, the pianist here. Inventive and meticulously realized big band tone poems that excite the mind and move the heart.
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