(Modern Big Band) Joe Sullivan Big Band - Unfamiliar Surroundings - 2017, MP3, 320 kbps

Call me nostalgic, but in a world that seems to admire novelty above all else, I still love big band jazz. I love all the same stuff I was attracted to right from the start...energy, sound, time, groove...edgy trumpets and old bendy blue notes...bright, aggressive trombones....well you get the picture. So before making this record, I went to my old pal an dlong-time collaborator Jean Frechette and asked him to help me make a disc we could both be proud of. It started with a marathon 2-day big-band-binge, me and him, a big pile of vinyl and CDs, and a significant quantity of more than passable hooch. At the end, shaky but otherwise unscathed, we had agreed on the sound we wanted: resonant, alive, the sound that knocked us out back in the day and made us want to play jazz...Thad Quincy, Francy Boland...like I said, nostaliga. The session was laid out so that people felt at ease and could hear each other (no headphones for the horns!) and Jean went for the bright, clear mix we wanted. After all is said and one, I hope we've made a record that is vibrant and swinging - and I hope all you jazz-lovers out there will enjoy listening to it! (Joe Sullivan)