An excellent big band for today. Think Jones/Lewis or Clarke/Boland and you're in the ballpark. Add the spirit of the later Basie bands and contemporary outfits such as the WDR Big Band, Mike Gibbs or the Simon Spillett Big Band and you're getting close.
All the arrangements are by Mark Miller and he also wrote several of the compositions. The band has an abundance of top class soloists who deliver the goods to perfection.
And, as if that isn't enough, Nicole Zuraitis has three vocal features: Tenderly, a hit for George Clooney's auntie Rosemary a long time ago, has Zuraitis sounding not unlike the legendary singer albeit in a jazzier setting. Close Your Eyes begins with just voice and bass before piano and drums take it up. Bass trombone solos, brass hits a few up where the air is rarefied, Nicola scats - it's an absolute gem. Nonsense, composed jointly by the singer and the arranger, the lyric is indeed nonsense - shades of Clark Terry's Mumbles. Some crazy plungering from Wilkins - it's party time!
If I were to wax eloquently on every track I'd still be typing come next Michaelmas so I'll restrict myself to Chick Corea's Spain with its Spanish tinged trumpet solo from Lee, Childers' delightful soprano solo and the frenzied and effective drumming from Smith. The picador, the matador and the toreador could be fatally distracted if they played this track in the bull ring.
Five will get you ten there won't be a better big band album this year. Lance
Storybook (MM); Water Lily (Kenny Barron); Tenderly (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence); Chorale and Alleluia (MM); Sail Away (Tom Harrell); WTF (MM- no lyric!); Close Your Eyes (Bernice Petkere); Concierto de Aranjuez (Joaquin Rodrigo); Spain (Chick Corea); The Doubledown (MM); Nonsense (Nicole Zuraitis, MM)
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