The Ed Palermo Big Band is led by alto saxist and arranger Ed Palermo; he has had this big band with much of the same personnel for over 30 years, which is an impressive feat in itself, and has had his band performing the music of Frank Zappa for 20 years. There are a number of ensembles performing the music of Frank Zappa, who is now recognized as one of the great 20th century American composers, but no one does it with this ease, skill and originality! The band is a 18 piece ensemble of five woodwind players, four trumpeters, three trombonists, two keyboardists, guitar, violin, bass and drum. All of these musicians are NYC professionals, and they have been playing this music for years with Ed, because, like Ed, they recognize and appreciate the genius inherent in the huge body of Zappa's work, and they want to keep this great music alive and in front of the public. OH NO! NOT JAZZ!! consists of two discs: The first disc further explores Ed's distinctive, big band interpretations of the music of Frank Zappa, while the second disc features Ed's own, colorful compositions.
One of the grooviest albums ever from the legendary Milt Jackson – an upbeat, almost funky set of soul jazz tracks – played with some great grooves on the bottom! Those trademark Jackson vibes are firmly in place, but the setting is quite different from the staid sounds of the MJQ – more in the soulful swinging sound of late 60s Verve and Impulse, with lots of mod elements thrown in for good measure! Backing is by the Ray Brown big band, who give Milt a nice fat bottom to groove on – and the whole thing's very groovy, with titles that include "Braddock Breakdown", "Uh Huh", "Sound For Sore Ears", and "Queen Mother Stomp".