I am president and bassist with the New England Jazz Ensemble. We are a not-for-profit organization promoting the music of the modern big band/jazz ensemble.
Get to know us at www.neje.org ,
at our CD store at www.cdbaby.com/Artist/NewEnglandJazzEnsemble
or on Pandora at http://www.pandora.com/new-england-jazz-ensemble
Our latest project is a jazz ensemble version of the iconic “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev. The CD hit the streets April 22, 2018. Please read the story in DOWNBEAT Magazine.
Our CD Release Concert was Thursday October 25, 7:30 PM at the Roberts Theater at Kingswood Oxford School, 170 Kingswood Rd, West Hartford, CT 06119
Check out some cuts from our arrangement written by Walter Gwardyak with “jazzbretto” written and read by Giacomo Gates.
Check out this review from Jack Bowers at All About Jazz:
“This is an ambitious (and essentially successful) enterprise, designed to please fans of the classical and jazz worlds alike, not an easy task to accomplish. The NEJE does it with outstanding musicianship and expansive imagination. The ensemble is exemplary, the soloists bright and perceptive. And with the jazz flavor added to the mix, Sergei Prokofiev’s memorable epic of Peter and the Wolf has seldom sounded better.” – Jack Bowers
Going back to our previous CD, here’s a little sample audio/video from our live CD Release Party performance of Billy Taylor’s “It’s A Grand Night for Swinging” arranged by Jeff Holmes. It features solos by our guest artists: vocalist Giacomo Gates, flutist Ali Ryerson and guitarist Jon Abercrombie. There are even a couple of audio cameos by drummer Jon Mele and yours truly on bass.