Are there any other Big Band fanatics out there? I'm looking for some new stuff. Not the usual oldies (Basie, Ellington, etc.), but some good modern big bands that may not be that well known.
I recommend the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band. The Mosaic set is out of print, but individual CDs are still available. These are the charts that Basie did not want to touch because they were too complex.
For something comtemporary, Dave Berger and the Sultans of Swing. In the mode of Duke. See sultansofswing.com Saw the Dave Holland Big Band last month at Birdland, 10 horns on stage! in addition to vibes, drums ( the utterly amazing Nate Smith), and obviously a pretty good bass player :^) They blew the roof off.
Mario Bauza's "Tanga Suite". This will take you back to the height of the Mambo craze in the late 50s early 60s when there was considerable overlap in the personnel of the best jazz and mambo bands. This is a fabulous recording from the early 90s. I always bring it in my periodic explorations of what's new and wonderful on the audio scene.
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