Sun Ra's Arkestra was at it's most radical during this period, alternating simple chants with very outside playing and dense ensembles. Although no precise date is given, these five cuts are thought to have been documented circa 1967-1968 by Sun Ra (piano) and his Arkestra in New York City, where the band was in residence at the time. First released for Record Store Day 2014, the title is now available on gold vinyl, pressed at Pallas Group in Germany.

Sun Ra's Arkestra was at it's most radical during this period, alternating simple chants with very outside playing and dense ensembles. Although no precise date is given, these five cuts are thought to have been documented circa 1967-1968 by Sun Ra (piano) and his Arkestra in New York City, where the band was in residence at the time. First released for Record Store Day 2014, the title is now available on gold vinyl, pressed at Pallas Group in Germany.

A historic record - recorded just four years removed from the dawn of the analog tape era! Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes. Recorded on an Ampex 200, using 3M-111 magnetic tape running at 15 inches per second. Gatefold old-school "tip-on" on jacket by Stoughton Printing. Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings!

Although it follows the same patterns and approach as Cycles, My Way is a stronger album, with a better, more varied selection of material and a more focused, gutsy performance from Frank Sinatra. Built around the hit single "My Way," the album again alternates between rock covers ("Yesterday," "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," "For Once in My Life," "Didn't We," "Mrs. Robinson"), a couple of adapted French songs, and a handful of standards. This time out, Don Costa has written more engaging charts than the previous Cycles. The Beatles' "Yesterday" is given an affecting, melancholy treatment that brings out the best in Sinatra, as does the new arrangement of "All My Tomorrows," which is lush and aching. If Sinatra doesn't quite pull off the R&B of "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," he does sing the light Latin stylings of "A Day in the Life of a Fool" beautifully, and he has fun with Paul Simon's "Mrs. Robinson," changing the lyrics dramatically so they become a tongue-in-cheek, swinging hipster tribute. For that matter, most of the record is successful in creating a middle ground between the traditional pop Sinatra loves and the contemporary pop/rock that dominated the charts in the late '60s. My Way doesn't have the macho swagger of his prime Rat Pack records, but its reflective, knowing arrangements show that Sinatra could come to terms with rock & roll at some level.

Live at Newport '77 was the second live recording of the Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band and was followed by another release, Live at Newport II recorded on the same day. Both albums were recorded at the 1977 Newport Jazz Festival.

Long Yellow Road is the second album by the Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band. It was named Best Jazz Album of the year by Stereo Review magazine. In 1976, the album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band.

Road Time was the first live concert recording of the Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band. The recording was made at three concerts in Tōkyō and Ōsaka, during a 1976 Japan tour and the double album received a 1977 Grammy nomination in the "Best Jazz Performance - Big Band" category.

Tim Haas, composer and master's student at the MHL: "For me, THIS IS THE FUTURE is a piece that is meant to remind us that the future begins today and that every moment has the potential to influence the future. I imagine the future in a similar way to how the piece was created: different musical styles, instruments and people from different backgrounds work together to create an overall result in which everyone ultimately finds a place.

Following "Left Arm Blues", an octet-recording acclaimed by the public and the critics, Fabien Mary continues to deploy his talents by extending them for the first time on the scale of a large orchestra. Drawing on the seasoned Vintage Orchestra, the most Parisian of all big bands, the trumpeter embarked on an impressive writing work from which emerged an entire original repertoire, in the great tradition of large-scale jazz. In "Too Short", the swing never gets the short end of the stick!

Pianist and composer Sebastian Sternal (*1983) is a musical jack-of-all-trades with many creative faces. Sternal not only plays piano in this project, but also wrote all nine compositions and conducted the band during the recording. As his trademark, the music here also combines influences from classical music and jazz and impresses with dazzling tonal colours, catchy melodies and energetic grooves. The outstanding soloists of the hr-Bigband shine with contrasting improvisation and interactions.

Assumably the youngest professional big band on the Dutch block these days! Composer and conductor Chris Muller is guiding Jazz Gen Next into a world of orchestral jazz, inspired by the likes of Christian McBride and Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band. ‘Turning Thoughts’ is their dazzling debut album with 8 brand new compositions by Chris Muller and arrangements by him of Bronislaw Kaper’s ‘Invitation’ and Wayne Shorter’s ‘Yes or No’. Featuring guest a.o. are Nicola Missing on vocals and Jasper Blom on tenor saxophone.

For the album "Bangers Only!" Jazzrausch Bigband chose a different focus. They have concentrated on a form which is by its nature tight and compact: here are thirteen "bangers", the kind of hits that no self-respecting concert or playlist should ever be without. We're fixed on the three- to four-minute song form here. So everything is about sticking to the point, or often just getting straight down to it. So we hear the very catchy, yet refined "Moebius Strip", the funky "I Want To Be A Banana" or the brass thunderstorm "Punkt und Linie zur Fläche". The other half of the setlist is new, the list of ingredients is typically long for Jazzrausch Bigband: techno, disco and funk beats, thick walls of brass alongside wide, airy surfaces, plus vocals, spoken word and improvisation. Euro-dance borrowings are new - sweet, garish and juicy.

LUCY WOODWARD is going big with this new project of hers, Lucy Woodward & The Rocketeers. Big as in the size of the band, which numbers 18, and big as in potential, and range. Throughout her career, Lucy has mixed genres, genre-bending if you will. And with this jazz orchestra, she pulls vibes from icons of jazz and pulsing vibrations from the then to the now and future music makers. Pushing the music forward is a worldwide collection of musicians from countries like Spain, Italy, and Ghana, all seriously helping to break the mold of the traditional Big Band.

“We can’t talk about the history of jazz orchestras in Portugal without talking about the important role of Zé Eduardo”. (Pedro Guedes). In June 2020, Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos opened its doors to composer and bassist Zé Eduardo, one of the most remarkable figures in the history of national jazz. The album is filled with original music from different scenes that take us through landscapes of the 70s and 80s - a swing, a bossa, a bolero -, and we’re given a taste of music written during a first quarantine too. This was also the time to record a commission from OJM itself with the sea in the background and even an arrangement of an old song - the only that wasn’t composed by Zé Eduardo - that seemed important to remember.

'Band of Bands' brings together key musicians from legendary British jazz pianist and composer Mike Westbrook's many small-scale projects. Joining the trio of vocalist/songwriter Kate Westbrook, Mike and saxophonist Chris Biscoe, are four long-time alumni- accordionist Karen Street, saxophonist/clarinettist Pete Whyman, Marcus Vergette on bass and Coach York on drums.