With the jazz scene making an enthusiastic but cautious return, most of the groups convening are smaller ensembles - easier to socially distance, travel and perform.
But bigger is part of things, too - and it got Marty Ashby and Renée Govanucci of MCG Jazz considering the Big Band and other very large ensembles. When you look at the catalog of recordings on the MCG Jazz label over the past 25 years, there are about 17 big band recordings on the roster.
This time around, a sampling of some of those discs - from the first big band date with the New York Voices and the Count Basie Orchestra, to the recent release, “Diva and the Boys,” featuring the stunning all-female band DIVA with guest performers Ken Peplowski, Jay Ashby, Claudio Roditi, and Marty Ashby.
Other large slices on the menu include the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, the Bob Mintzer Big Band, Slide Hampton and Bill Watrous with a “World of Trombones,” and a grammy winner with Nancy Wilson.
We go “large” in the MCG Jazz Spotlight on WZUM - Friday and Sunday nights at 6, Saturday afternoons at 1.
Marty Ashby and Renée Govanucci
Slide Hampton, Bill Watrous and World of Trombones