Jazz Big Band Recommendations?

Nighthawk,
About KJO: There's a tune they wrote called "Angst". They always play it at all their concerts here in Knoxville. I would have to say, it's their signature tune. I don't think thier latest CD has it on it though..... I would start out with their latest [The Music of Donald Brown], which came out a few months ago. If you like it, then you can go back in time. All their stuff is pretty good.

I think the Nashville Orchestra is much like the Knoxville Orchestra.....just a bunch of guys with day jobs [some in music...some not] who love to play. It's amazing to me that these groups stay together. Most of them play virtually for free.

I'll look into your recommendations. BTW, I find Big Band Basie [Reference Recordings] to be excellent for tuning in a system.

Tom,
I agree 100% about KS All-stars. I wouldn't worry to mach about the movie though. It was good but the soundtrack was much better.

For those loving Big Band music, you may also want to look at big bands from South of the border. I saw Bueno Vista Social Club here last year at the Tennessee Theater. The name of their big band is called the Afro-Cuban All Stars and they have several CDs out and their singer is TERRIFIC!. All I can say is when I saw them, they had people here ...in Knoxville, TN...literally dancing in the isles. If you know anything about Knoxville, then you know how special that is.

I heard the Afro-Cuban All Stars on the radio recently (NPR, I think), and I agree. They are well worth a listen!

Tom.

heard a piece of this on NPR Jazz last night. Pretty good stuff.

http://www.johnlabarbera.com/newcd.html

If you ever go to New Orleans, there is a not-well-kept-secret that the place to hear the best jazz in town is Preservation Hall. They bring in great sounding no-name bands to maintain the heritage of old fashioned jazz. The room is small and rustic to provide an enjoyable, and intimate experience. Preservation Hall records these presentations and sells the CDs at there website. To give you an idea of their popularity, lines circle around the block on weekends, but only the front of the line gets in because of the small size of the room.