Usually, the mix of jazz and classical feels like a forced date, with no one feeling quite right with the other. Jack Cooper, who arranged the music here for a jazz orchestra, came up with the smart choice of bypassing the Romantic and Classical eras of music and jumping into the modern times by taking the compositions of Charles Ives, who’s life stretched from the 19th through the 20th Century. By doing this, you get jazz orchestrations of modern harmonies by a composer who was also adept at hymns and American traditional songs, which fit right in with the jazz lexicon.
The Big Band boasts all stars like Terell Stafford/tp, Randy Ingram/p and John Mosca/tb , bt the whole band is superb. Panoramic themes are able to swing on “Mist” which also includes rich solos by Stafford and Evan Renta/ts. A bluesy cadence feels right at home on “At The River” with Luis Bonilla’s trombone and the brass and reed sections punch hard on “Watchman.” You even get some smoky B3 as the whole band pops like a 10th round heavy weight on “The Cage,” with Vince Cherico driving the band with his drums like a scene from Ben Hur. Good call, here!
Planet Arts Records