Yeah, Markus. That's a powerful program in the making.

Yes, they will play on April,19 in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. Perhaps I will look for tickets.

Another highlight will be on February, 28 in Düsseldorf:

WDR BigBand Presenting Bill Evans

Bill Evans, sax
Mark Egan, bass
Dave Weckl, drums
WDR Big Band Cologne

Sounds also promising...

Hey guys . . .

Haven't heard the WDR Big Band with Maco Parker yet. I will look on iTunes today and have a listen.

Former "Count Basie" and "Airmen of Note" arranger, Sammy Nestico, has done a couple of really good releases with another big band from Germany--the SWR Big Band. The are "Basie Cally Sammy" and "No Time Like the Present" on the Hanssler Classics label and released in 2005.

I also just found another very nice big band CD involving pianist Jim McNeeley, saxophonist Dick Oatts playing with the "Stockholm Jazz Orchestra." This CD is titled "Sound Bites" and was released in 1997 on the Dragon Records label if any of you are interested.

Big band jazz has always been a love of mine and I doubt I will ever get enough of the space a big band environment provides for musician interaction and improvisation. And it seems as if there is a growing abundance of modern big bands putting out some truly wonderful stuff [i.e., Gordon Goodwin, Gerald Wilson, Jaco Pastorius Tribute band directd by Peter Graves, Wayne Bergeron, Frank Capp Juggernaut, etc.].

And Marcus . . .

What do you know about the "SWR" big band?

Not so much, Phil. But they are also a wonderful BigBand. They made CD-Recordings with Sammy Nestico, Phil Woods, Rob McConnell, Slide Hampton, Clark Terry and Phil Woods. In the next months, they will be on tour with German Jazz Legends Max Greger sen., Paul Kuhn and Hugo Strasser, they have conducted this BigBand during the last decades.

Woody . . .

Funny you mentioned the Maceo Parker release with the WDR Big Band.

When I walked into the studio this morning to do my show, in my mail slot was a 2-CD set from the Heads Up people, "Roots & Grooves," featuring Maceo and this band.

I will give it a listen this morning and have some cuts ready to air this Friday AM.

Thanks for the heads up (?)

Spun the new Maceo Parker/WDR CD on today's show. The release has a real nice "feel" and as usual the WDR band just flat out swings. I will never get enough of this kind of stuff.

Yellowjackets - Yellowjackets, Altered State
Weather Report - Heavy Weather
Various - A Night Out in New Orleans
Moreira Project - The Journey
Reuben Rogers - The Things I Am
Maynard Ferguson - Hot
Hiroshima - Another Place
Randy Brecker w/Michael Brecker - Some Skunk Funk
The Best of Paquito D'Rivera
Spyro Gyra - City Kids

Hey Phil, I've always loved the way Paul Bollenbeck plays. His voicings are incredible. I'm gettin' flashbacks now when I used to get to sit in with him on a jam session back in the 80's at Takoma Station in DC. As a matter of fact, he and Vinnie Valentino would play duets there that were so beautiful.

Speaking of Vinnie Valentino, I need to get some of his stuff for th Library here at the radio station. Any recommendations?

I've always enjoyed the work of Bollenback and Joey DeFrancesco together as well. The Defrancesco family is a pretty large one. A few years ago I went to Philly to see the JazzTimes Super Band that featured Joey D on B3, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Bob Berg on tenor, and Dennis Chambers on drums. The DeFrancesco clan and friends were there occupying nearly an entire row of seats in the row in front of me and getting into Joey's B3 work at the Keswick Theatre. It was a great evening of jazz and my wife and I got to meet and speak with a number of these talented people.

The Jaco Pastorius Big Band - Word of Mouth Revisited
Veronica Martel - The Art of Intimacy
Gumbi Ortiz - Miami
The George Benson Collection
Diane Schuur and B.B. King - Heart to Heart
David Sanborn - Close-Up
Keith Newton - Feelin' Groovy
Craig Yaremko - Sync
Chris Botti - Night Sessions
George Duke - After Hours
Fattburger - All Natural Ingredients