Although the Big Band had its heyday in the 1930s, when young people experienced dance and romance to the tones of the ubiquitous jazz orchestras, it remains an integral element of any jazz scene even today. It is therefore indispensable for our jazz students to gain the necessary experience of playing in a Big Band. To this end, we organise two Big Band projects every year, this time giving the lead to Belgian-American saxophonist John Ruocco.
He will take our students under the wing in repertoire by two icons of the big band scene with a clear preference for the low register: trombonist Bob Brookmeyer (1929-2011) and double bassist John Clayton (°1952). Although Brookmeyer belongs to the older generation, he was slightly more progressive in his composing style, drawing inspiration from early-20th-century classical composers, among others. Clayton, too, knows his classics - after all, for a while he was leader of the bass section of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra - but in his work he mainly carries on the jazz tradition, as can be heard in the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, which he has co-lead since 1986.
Curious to see how our students perform in this delightful XL mix of tradition and modernism?
With thanks for the text to Matthias Heyman, Research Department KCB.
