Marco Postacchini Big Band

Maurizio Rolli & A.M.P. Big Band - Moodswings - A Tribute To Jaco Pastorius (2001) {Wide Sound WD109}
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© 2001 Wide Sound | WD109
Jazz / Progressive Jazz / Fusion / Modern Big Band / Bass

This isn’t just another oblique or chops based attempt at paying homage to the late, great bassist Jaco Pastorius. Here, Italian acoustic-electric bassist, arranger Maurizio Rolli and his A.M.P. Big Band (along with some special guests), inject heartfelt imagery into the Pastorius songbook. With this release, Rolli focuses on Pastorius' compositional strengths.

GRP All-Star Big Band is a jazz album by the big band of the same name. The album was nominated for the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Recording at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards. The band was assembled in celebration for the tenth anniversary of GRP Records and featured the top musicians of the label. The album itself was recorded and mixed over a two day session and filmed for the accompanying video directed by Ed Libonati.

GRP All-Star Big Band is a jazz album by the big band of the same name. The album was nominated for the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Recording at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards. The band was assembled in celebration for the tenth anniversary of GRP Records and featured the top musicians of the label. The album itself was recorded and mixed over a two day session and filmed for the accompanying video directed by Ed Libonati.

Archie Shepp Attica Blues Big Band - Live At The Palais Des Glaces (1979) {2CD Set Blue Marge 1001 rel 2004}
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© 1979, 2004 Terrones / Blue Marge | 1001
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Fusion / Hard Bop / Jazz-Funk / Saxophone

From the outset, Archie Shepp's terminally misunderstood Attica Blues on Impulse during the 1970s was an attempt by the saxophonist and composer to bring together the various kinds of African American musics under one heading and have them all express the conscience of the day. His ensemble featured singers, string players, horns, drums, guitars, etc. The sounds were a Gordian knot of jazz, free music, R&B, soul, groove, and even funk. In 1979 Shepp was given the opportunity to realize the project with an ensemble of his choosing at the Palais des Glaces in Paris (New York was already courting Wimpton Marsalis). Shepp chose 30 musicians and director/conductor Ray Copeland. Among the throng were saxophonists Marion Brown, John Purcell, Patience Higgins, and John Ware.

Charlie Parker - Big Band (1950-1953) {Verve Master Edition 24bit rel 1999}
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© 1950-53, 1999 Clef Records / Verve / PolyGram Records | 559 835-2
Jazz / Bop / Bebop / Big Band / Saxophone

A reissue of the original 1952 Clef recording session, this is one of the few instances in Charlie Parker's later career where he played with something other than a small bebop group. Under contract at the time to Clef's Norman Granz, Parker was encouraged by the label to make recordings that took him out of his familiar settings and put him in with string arrangements, Latin rhythms, and larger band formats. This recording is the result of one of these experiments. Though Joe Lipman's arrangements are stellar, the musicians assembled for the sessions are an odd mix of pop-oriented big-band players and improvisers.

Oliver Nelson - The Argo, Verve and Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions (1962-67) {6CD Box Set Mosaic MD6-233 rel 2006}
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© 1962-67, 2006 Mosaic Records / UMG | MD6-233
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Big Band

Oliver Nelson was one of the more distinctive arrangers to be active in jazz, the studios, and popular music of the '60s. While most Nelson reissues focus on his always-excellent saxophone playing (whether on tenor or alto), this six-CD set, Argo, Verve and Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions, focuses on Oliver Nelson the arranger-composer-bandleader. He does take solos on some of these dates on tenor, alto,and soprano (his only recorded solos on that instrument), but it his writing that takes center stage.

Vienna Art Orchestra - The Big Band Years 1993-2007 (2010) {4CD Box Set EmArcy-Universal 0602527539966}
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© 1993-2007, 2010 EmArcy / Universal | 0602527539966}
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

The Vienna Art Orchestra is a 15-member jazz orchestra that features the avant-garde arrangements and compositions of its leader, pianist Mathias Ruegg. This is a reissue of their 1980 debut, an important document in the post-modern jazz movement. The opening, title track is a joyous, folkish tango that's been cartoonishly toyed with, featuring three solo sections. The marimba section is also ornamented with vocalese from Lauren Newton, followed by an extremely playful horn lead that sounds like a toy instrument. The solo offering from violinist Rudi Berger has an electronically effected fusion sound. A tight, alto sax solo by Wolfgang Puschnig ties everything together neatly with a lengthy, unaccompanied performance.

Maria Schneider & SWR Big Band - Live! - Plays The Music Of Maria Schneider & Kurt Weill (2000) {2 CD CK Records - CK00400}
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© 2000 CK Records | CK00400
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Progressive Jazz

Concerts with Maria Schneider are something special. They are stylistically not only out of the ordinary, they also manage to bring large orchestras to perform artistically at high voltage, with an energy and at a creative level which is otherwise known only in much smaller ensembles. It is not the music alone that drives the participants, but rather the serene seriousness of a band leader who demands a maximum of intensity from her compositions and passes this premise on to their interpretation. It is impossible to conceive of compositions for jazz orchestras more stringently. The instrumentalists know this too, and therefore feel called upon not only to reproduce the charts accurately but to work out all the contained hints, implications, and visions of sound down to the deepest levels. This original recording was made in May 2000 when Schneider appeared alongside the SWR Big Band. And for the SWR Big Band, those days in May 2000 are some of the highlights of their orchestral history.