If you haven’t heard or seen The Diva Orchestra, you are missing some of the most exciting music on the planet. The band is led by drummer Sherrie Marcie and features all the hard-swinging rhythms and percussion you could ever hope to find. Their latest release is The Diva Orchestra Swings Broadway.
The Orchestra features Maricle on drums—who also serves as music director—with Noriko Ueda on bass and Tomoko Ohno on piano. The saxes and woodwinds are Alexa Tarantino (soprano, alto, and flute), Mercedes Beckman (soprano, alto, and flute), the inimitable Roxy Coss (tenor and clarinet), Laura Dreyer (soprano, tenor, and clarinet) and Leigh Pilzer (baritone, bass clarinet, flute, and clarinet). The brass is Liesl Whitaker (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jami Dauber (trumpet, flugelhorn), Rachel Therrien (trumpet, flugelhorn), Barbara Laronga (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jennifer Krupa (trombone), Sara Jacovino (trombone), and Leslie Havens (bass trombone). Joining the orchestra for two tracks on percussion is the brilliant Annette Aguilar. It really doesn’t get much better than this.
As the album’s title suggests, the track list is from Broadway and the Jazz arrangements are spectacular. The opener is Heart from the 1955 musical comedy Damn Yankees, composed by Richard Adler. Roxy Coss gets a fine tenor saxophone solo, with additional solos from Jami Dauber on trumpet and Jennifer Krupa on trombone. From the start, these artists smoke.
Anthony Newley’s Pure Imagination, from 2013’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, follows with that well-loved and well-recognized tune with Leigh Pilzer’s arrangement. The rollicking rhythms from Sherrie Maricle and Annette Aguilar are a fine set-to for soloists Dauber and Coss. Coss is a gunslinger and is worthy of all the attention she ever gets. Listen to Aguilar’s percussion. Marvelous.
The Gershwins’ The Man I Love is from An American in Paris, arranged by Michael Abene. Bassist Noriko takes a splendid introductory solo, full of excellent runs and bent notes. That is followed by With Every Breath I Take from the 1989 musical City of Angels. Sara Jacovino contributes a fine trombone solo, written by herself for herself.
The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) is beautifully arranged by Laura Leigh Pilzer. An extremely well-known song, Pilzer’s arrangement is straight-ahead and swinging. Tomoko Ohno (piano), Noriko Ueda (bass), and Leigh Pilzer (baritone saxophone) all add their warm solos. Pay special attention to Pilzer’s baritone sax—that alone is worth the price of admission. Rodgers and Hammerstein get another listen with Oh, What a beautiful Mornin’ from Oklahoma. Noriko Ueda handles the arrangement and also gives a cool, percussive piano intro. Ueda has turned the classic Broadway piece into an extraordinary Jazz number that provides excellent piano, flugelhorn (Rachel Therrien) and tenor saxophone (Laura Dreyer) solos. I enjoyed this much more than expected. A very nice surprise.
Meredith Willson’s Seventy-Six Trombones from The Music Man follows. Krupa, Jacovina, and Havens give the trombone chorus with Coss’ clarinet and Laronga’s trumpet also taking solos. Laronga’s solo is hot and Maricle gives excellent drum support. Scott Whitfield arranged the tune and his contribution is stellar. This is riotously good fun.
Love Who You Love comes from A Man of No Ignorance by Stephen Flaherty. The Scott Silbert arrangement is sweet and cool. I love the piano bits from Tomoko Ohno and the flugelhorn passages from Laronga are exquisite. The flutes with piano is a wonderful pairing. The album concludes with Get Me to the Church on Time by Lerner and Loewe from My Fair Lady. Whitfield also arranges this tune and it is a beauty, carving wondrous and fiery space for the smoking alto saxophone soloists Mercedes Beckman and Alexa Tarantino. Sherrie Maricle is also on fire on the drums. She swings hard and her drum solo reminds favorably of Gene Krupa and the like. This is leaving it all on the stage, for sure.
The Diva Orchestra Swings Broadway is a marvelous tribute to all the great Jazz tunes received from the Broadway classics. With a fabulous array of artists and arrangers, Sherrie Maricle has gathered to herself the makings of this wonderful album. This is the way these songs should be played—just how we like them. Let me just say it: I love The Diva Orchestra.
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
The Orchestra features Maricle on drums—who also serves as music director—with Noriko Ueda on bass and Tomoko Ohno on piano. The saxes and woodwinds are Alexa Tarantino (soprano, alto, and flute), Mercedes Beckman (soprano, alto, and flute), the inimitable Roxy Coss (tenor and clarinet), Laura Dreyer (soprano, tenor, and clarinet) and Leigh Pilzer (baritone, bass clarinet, flute, and clarinet). The brass is Liesl Whitaker (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jami Dauber (trumpet, flugelhorn), Rachel Therrien (trumpet, flugelhorn), Barbara Laronga (trumpet, flugelhorn), Jennifer Krupa (trombone), Sara Jacovino (trombone), and Leslie Havens (bass trombone). Joining the orchestra for two tracks on percussion is the brilliant Annette Aguilar. It really doesn’t get much better than this.
As the album’s title suggests, the track list is from Broadway and the Jazz arrangements are spectacular. The opener is Heart from the 1955 musical comedy Damn Yankees, composed by Richard Adler. Roxy Coss gets a fine tenor saxophone solo, with additional solos from Jami Dauber on trumpet and Jennifer Krupa on trombone. From the start, these artists smoke.
Anthony Newley’s Pure Imagination, from 2013’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, follows with that well-loved and well-recognized tune with Leigh Pilzer’s arrangement. The rollicking rhythms from Sherrie Maricle and Annette Aguilar are a fine set-to for soloists Dauber and Coss. Coss is a gunslinger and is worthy of all the attention she ever gets. Listen to Aguilar’s percussion. Marvelous.
The Gershwins’ The Man I Love is from An American in Paris, arranged by Michael Abene. Bassist Noriko takes a splendid introductory solo, full of excellent runs and bent notes. That is followed by With Every Breath I Take from the 1989 musical City of Angels. Sara Jacovino contributes a fine trombone solo, written by herself for herself.
The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) is beautifully arranged by Laura Leigh Pilzer. An extremely well-known song, Pilzer’s arrangement is straight-ahead and swinging. Tomoko Ohno (piano), Noriko Ueda (bass), and Leigh Pilzer (baritone saxophone) all add their warm solos. Pay special attention to Pilzer’s baritone sax—that alone is worth the price of admission. Rodgers and Hammerstein get another listen with Oh, What a beautiful Mornin’ from Oklahoma. Noriko Ueda handles the arrangement and also gives a cool, percussive piano intro. Ueda has turned the classic Broadway piece into an extraordinary Jazz number that provides excellent piano, flugelhorn (Rachel Therrien) and tenor saxophone (Laura Dreyer) solos. I enjoyed this much more than expected. A very nice surprise.
Meredith Willson’s Seventy-Six Trombones from The Music Man follows. Krupa, Jacovina, and Havens give the trombone chorus with Coss’ clarinet and Laronga’s trumpet also taking solos. Laronga’s solo is hot and Maricle gives excellent drum support. Scott Whitfield arranged the tune and his contribution is stellar. This is riotously good fun.
Love Who You Love comes from A Man of No Ignorance by Stephen Flaherty. The Scott Silbert arrangement is sweet and cool. I love the piano bits from Tomoko Ohno and the flugelhorn passages from Laronga are exquisite. The flutes with piano is a wonderful pairing. The album concludes with Get Me to the Church on Time by Lerner and Loewe from My Fair Lady. Whitfield also arranges this tune and it is a beauty, carving wondrous and fiery space for the smoking alto saxophone soloists Mercedes Beckman and Alexa Tarantino. Sherrie Maricle is also on fire on the drums. She swings hard and her drum solo reminds favorably of Gene Krupa and the like. This is leaving it all on the stage, for sure.
The Diva Orchestra Swings Broadway is a marvelous tribute to all the great Jazz tunes received from the Broadway classics. With a fabulous array of artists and arrangers, Sherrie Maricle has gathered to herself the makings of this wonderful album. This is the way these songs should be played—just how we like them. Let me just say it: I love The Diva Orchestra.
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
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