You may not know the names Gary Lindsay (Grammy nominated arranger) or Chuck Bergeron (world class bassist), but in conjunction with The South Florida Jazz Orchestra, they’re a formidable Miami sound machine on par with the one made famous by Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Lindsay’s crisp, dynamic big band charts have been performed by everyone from Maynard Ferguson to the Florida Philharmonic.
This ambitious eight track, 69 minute whirlwind through the art of swing marks the first recording entirely devoted to his arrangements. Complementing the bold, brash, freewheeling orchestra of the city’s top jazz and studio musicians, the blend of brisk, shimmering Lindsay originals (including “Moment in Time” and “Towards Hope”) and classics by Pat Metheny (“Better Days”), Thelonious Monk (“Round Midnight”) and Billy Strayhorn (“UMMG”) feature solos by local legends like guitarist John Hart and saxophonists Ed Calle and Gary Keller.
The session also features two towering vocalists, Julia Dollison (who takes the medley of “Spring is Here/Up Jumped Spring”) into the whimsical stratosphere) and Nicole Yarling, who is pure, hot day, get the fans out soul simmer on the bluesy “Easy Living.” Many of the participants on this project are top jazz educators in the region – and those of us who can’t afford tuition are grateful for the master class in big band they offer here!