London Jazz Festival
Jazz Jamaica/Mike Gibbs and the NDR Big Band Double Bill
A special double bill recorded last week celebrates the current resurgence of the big band in contemporaryjazz. Jazz
Jamaica All-Stars, the brainchild of UK bassist Gary Crosby , boasts a line-up of the best British Jazz musicians, including Andy Sheppard (sax), Alex Wilson (piano) and Orphy Robinson (vibraphone). The group takes jazz standards and Jamaican ska and reggae classics, and re-appraises them from a modern big band perspective to create opportunities for both virtuoso solos and exhilarating ensemble work.
The evening is completed by Mike Gibbs leading the 18-piece NDR big band. Gibbs has worked as an arranger/composer with John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, with bass legend Jaco Pastorius. Pat Metheny , and with Stan Getz. In Mike Gibbs 's hands the NDR ensemble is a truly progressive musical force.