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Here are 2 reviews of our July 2010 performance at the Bahai Center: |
The laid back leader moved through
the set so easily it almost didn’t seem like work.
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![]() Or, conversely, it is possible that some of the vast resources be underutilized by favoring a particular line-up or coloration. Begian was not ensnared by either of these pitfalls. The full dynamic range was explored as were the personalities of the various instruments and their players. With proponents such as this, big band jazz could well make a deserved comeback.
The Jamie Begian Big Band live is an evening well spent for any fans of traditional or modern jazz and the CD, Big Fat Grin, is highly recommended.
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![]() Here's the link to the complete review
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Big Fat Grin received 4 stars from
All Music.com
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Lucid Culture
"Big Fat Grin, the new album by the Jamie Begian Big Band delivers everything a modern big band jazz outfit ought to: it’s a treat for anyone who goes for an intricate mesh of textures and a BIG, boisterous, ecstatic yet cerebral sound."
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"Joy is all over Big Fat Grin. The cornerstone of Begian's
writing, and inded the performance of the entire band, is that of
happiness and passion.![]() For the complete review click here.
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Those of you in the NYC area can check this out in the July 2010 AAJ-NY: "Guitarist Jamie Begian has created a stunningly original big band for the 21st Century that builds on traditions pioneered by composers, arrangers and bandleaders as diverse as Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, Stan Kenton, Sun Ra and 20th Century European jazz an classical artists." (George Kanzler, All About Jazz - New York, July 2010)
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Another review from AllAboutJazz.com - this time from their "extended analysis" column:
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Renown journalist Richard Kamins (formerly of
Cadence Magazine and the Hartford Courant) had
this to say about Big Fat Grin on his blog "Step Tempest" (June 2010)
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![]() (Susan Frances, Jazz Inside Magazine June 2010) click here for the complete review |
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"Big
Fat Grin shows just how a talented big band can create affecting
music." |
"Composer-guitarist Jamie Begian is out to prove that there's still quite a bit of vitality right under the radar. Although he began writing extended arrangements a decade ago, by 1999, when Begian first formed the 17-piece outfit he pilots now, it was clear he'd found his calling.
Photo by Marcy Begian |
The contemporary lilt in Begian's compositions has as much to do with his feeling for slippery guitaristics as it does for his wish to extend the vocabulary of iconic arranger Gil Evans.
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Fans of Evan's classic work will understand another of Begian's uniqueness; His horn charts play up sleek, sophisticated harmonies while remaining conscious of the kind of blues-based rhythms that move the crowd. As the composer starts up his monthly residency at El Taller, his band is poised to remind New York jazzers of something they've been missing." (K. Leander Williams, TIMEOUT NY. April 2004)
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"I think of 'em as the little big band that could. Begian's charts are unpredictable yet logical. His ensemble's unity is tight enough to clarify all sorts of odd voicings. And on infectious tunes like "Big Fat Grin" (which seems a nod to Oliver Nelson), they put their swing front and center." (Jim Macnie, Village Voice. April 2004)
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"You may not have heard
much about this creative writer's big band, but that will change
soon. He took last year's BMI Foundation/Charlie Parker Jazz
Composition Prize for his piece "Fuzzy Math" and just recorded a
CD. His writing brings to mind a melding of Gil Evans and Thad
Jones, the work of someone who appreciates big band writing of the past 30
years while working to expand it's boundaries." (Mitchell Seidel, Hot House Magazine. July 2002) |
"Composer-bandleader
Jamie Begian is interested in the meticulous arithmetic of musical
harmony, but not so much that it gets in the way of his will to move the
crowd. He'd rather put together a crack large ensemble and set them
to work on, to quote one of his sputtering creations, "Fuzzy
Math." And Begian is not afraid to let an electric guitar take
the lead from his horn players, either. Hint: Neither was Gil
Evans. "
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"The one called "All
Beans" doesn't ape Kind Of Blue, and the one called
"Sorry Officer" ain't a bit apologetic - meaning this
large ensemble likes to throw some curves. It also likes to radiate:
the first 15 minutes of it's live disc push some of the most gorgeous
post-Gil hues in recent
memory." (Jim Macnie, Village Voice. March 2000) |
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"...His
music is wonderfully varied and complex, a rigorous encounter with the
entire history of eclectic big band composition, from Brookmeyer and Gil
Evans through Maria Schneider. Amid the groove and swing and the
calmer orchestral colors, Begian displayed a talent for abstract sound
sculpting." |