In 1998, having a blast playing with a big band made up of students from Thelonius Monk’s Institute of Jazz, outdoors, surrounded by the gorgeous mountains of Aspen Snow Mass, I was thinking how much I wanted to create a smaller band that would have the same power of a big band, but with so much more room in it for each musician to shine.
Little did I know this was the beginning of a beautiful journey, one that continues to this day, in which every concert, every recording is another beginning, another thrill, another joy. I conceived of the band as a septet 20 years ago, and later refined it to a sextet in 2005. And many of the most incredible musicians in the world have been a part of this band and of my band family. It is so much fun writing for them, trying out different directions, different unknowns; this continuous journey an exquisite adventure: enlightening, illuminating, beautiful, easy and challenging at the same time.
Alex Pope Norris is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and educator. Alex has studied and received his degrees at the Peabody Conservatory, the Manhattan School of Music, and the University of Miami. He has taught at the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, the University of Miami, and the Peabody Conservatory. Alex has 2 recordings as a leader, and has played on over 80 recordings as a sideman. He has played with the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Maria Schneider’s Big Band, with Betty Carter, Lonnie Plaxico, Jason Lindner, Timbalaye, Slide Hampton, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Chris Potter, Carl Allen, John Patituchi, Mulgrew Miller, Brian Blade, Afro-Cuban music with Andy and Jerry Gonzalez, Manny Oquendo, Paquito D’Rivera, Chico O’Farill, and with the big bands of Ron Carter, Mingus Dynasty, Alan Ferber, Kyle Eastwood, Helen Sung, and Miguel Zenon.
Phillip Norris is a bassist who is studying at the Julliard School of Music, and received the Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Soloist Award. Phillip has played with Wynton Marsalis, Ullysses Owens Jr., Harold Mabern, Joe Farnsworth, Eric Alexander, Jeff Hamilton, Helen Sung, Kenny Washington, and many others.
Brian Richburg Jr., is a talented drummer, and student of Donald Harrison, and Herlin Riley.
