Modern Big Band Jazz
Yes, the golden age of big bands and swing was a moment like no other in popular music, and the influence of the likes of Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Basie, and Duke reverberates through all of jazz through today. But at the same time that standing bands became economically nonviable, big band music began to explode in a thousand directions. This program begins in 1963 and looks across a wide spectrum of modern big bands and arrangers that have pushed, expanded, and re-imagined the genre: Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Bob Florence, Thad Jones, Mingus, Dave Holland, Julius Hemphill and more. From screaming horn sections to avante garde voicings, this is a look at the modern big band.
