New Secret Society!
Not until April 30th, alas, but there’s a streaming track to tide you over:
Brooklyn Babylon by Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
If you have unwisely not yet purchased Infernal Machines, it’s still available.
Not until April 30th, alas, but there’s a streaming track to tide you over:
Brooklyn Babylon by Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
If you have unwisely not yet purchased Infernal Machines, it’s still available.
bob_is_boring:
February 15th, 2013 at 2:23 am
Ha. I totally went to school with that guy.
Life is hilarious.
rea:
February 15th, 2013 at 6:27 am
Not to be confused with Brian D’arcy James . . .
dporpentine:
February 15th, 2013 at 7:05 am
Ugh. What boring music–Schroeder trying to sound like Mingus. I’ll never understand what appeals to people about watered down versions of better music.
Dave C.:
February 15th, 2013 at 10:04 am
Mingus is my god, and yet I’m a big fan of Secret Society, and helped finance the recording.
howard:
February 15th, 2013 at 10:32 am
i’m sitting in my office on a conference call, so i can’t sample this yet, but “infernal machines” is certainly an excellent recording, and argue certainly belongs – along with maria schneider, john hollenbeck, and sam rivers – in any discussion of people doing innovative work in the big-band form in recent years.
Scott Lemieux:
February 15th, 2013 at 11:53 am
Ditto.
Scott Lemieux:
February 15th, 2013 at 11:55 am
Speaking of Schneider, Howard, did you send me Evanescence? (When gifts arrive without a note around XMas time I never know who to thank!) Sky Blue is one of my very favorite records of the last decadeish…
howard:
February 15th, 2013 at 1:23 pm
some other faithful reader gets the credit for that one, scott (and sky blue is also on what i recently referenced as my evolving top 10 of 21st century jazz albums list); my last, in salute to the end of baseball season, was konitz et al at birdland and baby face willette….
Dave C.:
February 15th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
I was never much of a “big band” person until recently. “Infernal Machines” and the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble albums were getting so much praise that I bought them, and was hooked. But much as I love Secret Society, there’s something about JHLE that really gets me. Theo Bleckmann adds so much humanity to the sound…
howard:
February 15th, 2013 at 3:32 pm
dave c, be sure to check out the already mentioned maria schnedier “blue sky” and then, for something completely different, this fantastic compilation of the work sam rivers was doing in orlando with theme park musicians in search of a challenge.
and if you’re a mingus fan interested in big bands, you should be sure to check out gunther schuller’s reconstruction of mingus’ sprawling work for big band, “epitaph.” it’s not totally successful but it’s well worth hearing.
Scott Lemieux:
February 15th, 2013 at 5:59 pm
Both of those were just amazing, so thanks again!
Pestilence:
February 15th, 2013 at 11:16 pm
Scott, thank you – I’d never heard of this but just the samples on Amazon are enough to persuade me to buy it.