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The Birdland Big Band
The Birdland Big Band is a 16-piece jazz orchestra that performs at the Birdland Jazz Club in New York City. The Birdland Big Band is led by saxophonist David DeJesus.
DeJesus joined as saxophonist and leader in October 2017 and brought with him an emphasis on traditional swing and the blues. He hired drummer Chris Smith, bassist Doug Weiss, trumpeter Brandon Lee, and added a fourth trombonist in Ron Wilkins. These musicians joined Glenn Drewes, Tony Lustig, John Walsh, Mark Miller, Kenny Ascher, and Nathan Childers. In 2017 vocalist Veronica Swift was added.
The band was created in 2006 by drummer Tommy Igoe, son of jazz drummer Sonny Igoe. Tommy Igoe founded The Friday Night Big Band with musicians from a big band that was in residence at Birdland. That band was founded and directed by Lew Anderson, who died in 2006. After Igoe took over, he changed the name to Birdland Big Band and built a repertoire of contemporary compositions, original arrangements, and select historical works, some forgotten or rare. Guest musicians included Will Lee, James Genus, Conrad Korsch, and Broadway pit musicians who use the early evening sessions as a warm-up for their performances later that night. After Igoe left the band, it was directed for several years by Rob Middleton and Glenn Drewes.
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The Birdland Big Band at Birdland Jazz Club
by Dan Bilawsky
Happy hour on Friday is for unwinding, leaving the work week's burdens behind and--if you're lucky, and in the New York City area--catching The Birdland Big Band. That ensemble has long been holding court at its namesake club in a liminal space between afternoon and evening, filling the gap between life's structured nine-to-five commitments and the weekend's reprieve. Its music, mirroring both sides of that reality, walks a line between tight team work and personal freedom, allowing and encouraging ace ...
Continue ReadingThe Birdland Big Band: Storybook: The Music of Mark Miller
by Jack Bowers
Storybook, the third recording by the jny: New York City-based Birdland Big Band, is subtitled “the music of Mark Miller" and is designed to showcase compositions and arrangements by that multi-talented artist who doubles (triples) as the band's lead trombonist. Miller wrote or co-wrote half of the album's 10 colorful and impressive numbers (11 if one counts Joaquin Rodrigo's brief “Concerto de Aranjuez," which serves as an introduction to Chick Corea's “Spain") and arranged all of them. ...
Continue ReadingBirdland Big Band, New York, NY. December 28, 2011
by Ernest Barteldes
The Birdland Big Band directed by Tommy IgoeBirdlandNew York, NYDecember 28, 2011 On a chilly Wednesday night in December, drummer and bandleader Tommy Igoe directed the fifteen-piece Birdland Big Band as part of its weeklong headlining residence at the club the group has been calling home since its inception in 2005. The ensemble kicked off the set with an intriguing piece that shifted tempos, going from swing to blues, depending on who was soloing. ...
Continue ReadingBirdland Big Band, New York, NY, December 28, 2011
by Dan Bilawsky
The Birdland Big Band directed by Tommy IgoeBirdlandNew York, NYDecember 28, 2011 Establishing a foothold in the world of big bands today is no easy feat. Strong label support and distribution (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, for example), constant touring, television appearances and festival appearances (as with Wynton Marsalis and the LCJO), the weight of big band history (in the case of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra), and/or a unique, high brow concept in musical ...
Continue ReadingTommy Igoe and the Birdland Big Band 12/27 thru 12/31/11 at Birdland Jazz Club
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Two for the Show Media
The Birdland Big Band directed by Tommy Igoe will be performing at Birdland in NYC from Tuesday December 27th, 2011 thru Saturday December 31st, 2011. Set Times: 8:30pm & 11pm Birdland Big Band Trumpets: Chris Jaudes (lead)/Glen Drewes (solo)/John Walsh/John Chudoba; Trombones: Isrea Butler/Andy Hunter/Earl McIntyre; Saxophones: Nathan Childers/Matt Hong/Dan Willis/Rob Middleton/Barbara Cifelli; Piano: Kenny Ascher; Bass: Tom Kennedy; Drums/Leader: Tommy Igoe. Tommy Igoe's Birdland Big Band is the hottest big band in New York. The band plays every Friday ...
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The Birdland Big Band
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
