SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY JAZZ ORCHESTRA

ROYALTY: THE MUSIC OF DUKE ELLINGTON & COUNT BASIE

T2 Music

This professional aggregation, Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra, was formed in 2019 in Springfield, Ohio with a membership that spans three generations and includes a mixture of professional musicians, educators, and less experienced artists. They all share the same love for both jazz big bands and making music.

Founded by Todd Stoll, this trumpeter and Vice President of Education at Jazz/Lincoln Center in NYC, initiated this orchestra to keep big band jazz alive and well. The orchestra’s purpose was to perpetuate the big band legacy with the communal character of tradition.  On this project, their band mirrors the great American big band genius of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. They open with Ellington’s “Second Line” standard, featuring clarinetist Hal Melia, Lexi Hamner and Dr. Kie Watkins on trombone and Timothy Blackmon on trumpet.

Kurt Elling and iconic drummer Jeff Hamilton invigorate that old tune, “No Moon At All” with new life.  It must have been a thrill for the big band to play with these two living legends.

The Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra has arranged a number of songs by both icons. Some are very popular, but there’s a handful of tunes that may not be as familiar. One that I hadn’t heard in a long time was “You Turned the Tables on Me” featuring the appealing vocals of Ekep Nkwelle.

Another that was arranged in a very modern way, “Chinoiserie,” an Ellington composition I was unfamiliar with. It blasted on the scene like military aircraft performing ceremonial flyovers. The opening piano solo is stunning by Joel Wenhardt.

This inviting repertoire not only entertains but becomes a point of connection between mentors and younger players, as well as inspiring a respected orchestra in the larger Springfield jazz community. They celebrate “swing” from the first joyful note to the last.

THE SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY JAZZ ORCHESTRA: RHYTHM: Christopher Brown, & Joel Wenhardt, piano; Kevin Turner, guitar; George Delancey, bass; Maria Marmarou, drums; REEDS: Mark Donavan & Chris Andrews, alto saxophone; Hal Melia, tenor saxophone/clarinet; Edwin Bayard, tenor saxophone; Lauren Elliott Burgess, baritone sax. TRUMPETS: Dr. Scott Belck, lead trumpet; Pharez Whitted, Timothy Blackmon Jr., Miles Smith, Dr. Larry Griffin, & Todd Stoll. TROMBONES: Jessica Sneeringer & Dr. Kie Watkins; Lexi Hamner, trombone/tambourine. SPECIAL GUESTS: Jeff Hamilton, drums; Kurt Elling & Ekep Nkwelle, vocals.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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