Instrumentation: Big Band

Andy Jaffe’s precise-yet-swinging big band jazz compositions shine on his premiere Big Round release, from a playful rendition of Nat King Cole’s Straighten Up and Fly Right to the sprawling Porticulture suite.

Its evident from hearing the jazz big band works of composer, arranger, conductor and trombonist Henry Wolking’s debut album on Big Round Records, IN SEA, that he effectively mixes complexity with simplicity in his jazz harmonies and colorful orchestrations that make for an exciting and memorable listening experience. The inspired solo work of band members and guest artists add to the sincere and fresh cosmopolitan character of the recording.

On her debut Big Round Records release, CHAT CHILL HIGHLINE, composer Christina Rusnak presents works arranged for big band and large jazz ensemble, illustrating manners in which we interact with others and our environments such as conversing, observing, and absorbing. Composed during the rising popularity of internet chatrooms, Chat reflects on the energy and the sounds of movement, the multitude of voices, and the interweaving of conversations created in virtual and real social gatherings.

Since its inception in 2006, the B-Side Band has become the premiere professional big band in the city of Brno in the Czech Republic. Now, under the direction of bandleader Josef Buchta, the band presents its newest album: MISSA JAZZ. In this latest work, the B-Side Band is joined by Chamber Orchestra Brno and the Ars Brunensis chamber choir; together, they perform Jaromír Hnilička’s Missa Jazz. As its name suggests, the work is a complete Mass, and the score for its first iteration is held at the Vatican Library. Now, the original composition has been expanded to include a chamber orchestra and several new choral parts, resulting in a total reimagining of the work. First debuted in the fall of 2008, this album is the first-ever studio recording of the final expanded version of the Missa Jazz.

Fresh from Big Round Records comes the Cotatcha Orchestra’s BIGBANDOVÁ ELEKTRONIKA/BIGBAND ELECTRONICS. As its name suggests, this unprecedented album pairs original big band music with electronic music, concocting a sound—and perhaps even a brand new genre—that listeners have never heard before.