Scott Silbert is a multi-woodwind player and arranger extraordinaire. He was principal arranger for the United States Navy Band, retiring in 2017. Now he performs and arranges for the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and is a bandleader for his own small and big band ensembles.
Introducing the Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children is his debut as bandleader and returns some of the lesser-known big band works of the 1930s-40s-50s. There is also a Silbert original, Tootsie’s Rag, along with the other 14 covers.
The band has excellent artists performing Silbert’s arrangements and single composition. With Scott Silbert on tenor sax are Charlie Young and Antonio Parker on alto saxes, Grant Langford on tenor sax, and Leigh Pilzer (who performs with the Diva Jazz Orchestra) on baritone sax. The trumpets are Liesl Whitaker (also with the Diva Jazz Orchestra), Joshua Kauffman, and Chris Walker and the trombones are Dave Perkel, Jen Krupa, and Kristen Warfield. The rhythm section is Tony Nalker on piano, Craig Gildner on guitar, the amazing Amy Shook on bass, and Ken Kimery on drums. Vocals are by Gretchen Midgley and Scott Silbert.
What is even more extraordinary is that this band had only one rehearsal together before going into the seven-hours-ling recording session. These artists are amazing.
The album is loaded with songs that are nowhere considered standards but considering they were recorded by Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Chick Webb, and more, Silbert reiterates the music in his own way. It nowhere sounds dated or anachronistic. This is a big band who can breathe life into old songs that should be heard again. Silbert proves why this is so.
Gretchen Midgley is wonderful in her delivery of the vocals in songs like Jump Children and 11:60 PM. Then Silbert adds his own vocals for I Want a Roof (Over My Head) and he is remarkable. This guy has all the skills.
The 15 songs are all worthy of attention but there a few that stand out. In a Persian Market may be the oldest song on the album, composed around 1929. It has a touch of the Benny Goodman Sing, Sing, Sing in the drums and that is always fun. The arrangement is something remarkable and the performance is brilliant.
Silbert’s original, Tootsie Roll, sounds like it belongs alongside these much older songs. The Tony Nalker piano and Silbert’s own tenor sax trades are then taken over by the trumpet of Liesl Whitaker. This song was made for fun for all the players.
The sweet and smooth Dusk was famously recorded by Duke Ellington. Again, Nalker’s piano offers a sweet introduction for the mellow horn passages. But they can also romp with the best of them in songs like Chloe. Silbert’s tenor sax is a marvel.
The album closes with Edgar Sampson’s 1933 hit Stompin’ at the Savoy. Here’s a song we all know and love, especially after the Silbert treatment. It is a stomp, to be sure.
Introducing the Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children is a blast from start to finish. The right performing artists with the right arranger is always a winning combination and this album has both in abundance.
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
Introducing the Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children is his debut as bandleader and returns some of the lesser-known big band works of the 1930s-40s-50s. There is also a Silbert original, Tootsie’s Rag, along with the other 14 covers.
The band has excellent artists performing Silbert’s arrangements and single composition. With Scott Silbert on tenor sax are Charlie Young and Antonio Parker on alto saxes, Grant Langford on tenor sax, and Leigh Pilzer (who performs with the Diva Jazz Orchestra) on baritone sax. The trumpets are Liesl Whitaker (also with the Diva Jazz Orchestra), Joshua Kauffman, and Chris Walker and the trombones are Dave Perkel, Jen Krupa, and Kristen Warfield. The rhythm section is Tony Nalker on piano, Craig Gildner on guitar, the amazing Amy Shook on bass, and Ken Kimery on drums. Vocals are by Gretchen Midgley and Scott Silbert.
What is even more extraordinary is that this band had only one rehearsal together before going into the seven-hours-ling recording session. These artists are amazing.
The album is loaded with songs that are nowhere considered standards but considering they were recorded by Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Chick Webb, and more, Silbert reiterates the music in his own way. It nowhere sounds dated or anachronistic. This is a big band who can breathe life into old songs that should be heard again. Silbert proves why this is so.
Gretchen Midgley is wonderful in her delivery of the vocals in songs like Jump Children and 11:60 PM. Then Silbert adds his own vocals for I Want a Roof (Over My Head) and he is remarkable. This guy has all the skills.
The 15 songs are all worthy of attention but there a few that stand out. In a Persian Market may be the oldest song on the album, composed around 1929. It has a touch of the Benny Goodman Sing, Sing, Sing in the drums and that is always fun. The arrangement is something remarkable and the performance is brilliant.
Silbert’s original, Tootsie Roll, sounds like it belongs alongside these much older songs. The Tony Nalker piano and Silbert’s own tenor sax trades are then taken over by the trumpet of Liesl Whitaker. This song was made for fun for all the players.
The sweet and smooth Dusk was famously recorded by Duke Ellington. Again, Nalker’s piano offers a sweet introduction for the mellow horn passages. But they can also romp with the best of them in songs like Chloe. Silbert’s tenor sax is a marvel.
The album closes with Edgar Sampson’s 1933 hit Stompin’ at the Savoy. Here’s a song we all know and love, especially after the Silbert treatment. It is a stomp, to be sure.
Introducing the Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children is a blast from start to finish. The right performing artists with the right arranger is always a winning combination and this album has both in abundance.
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
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