If you’re a big band fan, you’re in for a treat on this session by composer, conductor and trombone player John Yao. As heleads a pistol packing big band through ten flavorfully swinging charts.
He must have grown up watching TV cop shows like M Squad or Dragnet, as some of these charts such as “Flip-Flop,” “Soundscape No. 1” and the blaring horns and bluesy groove on “Hellgate” has a shark suit punch to them as the brass and reeds sway to the bopping rhythm of Jesse Stacken, Bob Sabin and Vince Cherico. There’s a warm strut on “New Guy” and the brass glides on “Slow… Children at Play.” A dream-sequence mood creates a wonderful haze no Ode to the Last Twinkie” and there’s a murky mood over the rumbling “Soundscape No. 2.” Yao not only puts a fresh coat of paint to big band sounds, but redoes the foundation and expands a few rooms. Exciting through and through.
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