Steve Owen – “Stand up Eight”

 

Steve Owen - "Stand Up Eight"A hell of an impression for his debut album.  On Stand Up Eight, conductor and arranger Steve Owen brings together an 18-piece ensemble for an astounding display of orchestral jazz.  Moments that absolutely soar and others that jitter invitingly closer to earth.  The kind of beauty and power that can uplift a listener’s heart at the same time it’s punching a hole through it.  Just one strong moment after the next.

Your album personnel:  Steve Owen (composer, arranger), Dan Gailey (conductor), Todd Delgiudice (alto & soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), John Gunther alto & soprano sax, flute), Don Aliquo tenor sax, clarinet), Peter Sommer tenor sax, clarinet), Wil Swindler baritone sax, bass clarinet), John Davis, John Adler, Clay Jenkins, Brian Mcwhorter (trumpets & flugelhorns), Nat Wickham, Paul Mckee, Dave Glenn (trombones), Gary Mayne (bass trombone, tuba), Steve Kolvalcheck (guitar), Dana Landry (piano), Erik Applegate (bass), Jim White (drums, percussion), and Brad Dutz (percussion, marimba).

And this is a big band album, in both mind and body.  That potent mix of wild euphoria and fighting spirit is present whether it’s the thrilling swoon of album opener “Fall Down Seven Stand Up Eight” or the equally thrilling but moody album closer “Following In Your Footsteps,” or the Latin-infusion of “As Of Now” and the retrograde burner “State of the Union,” or his arrangements of Radiohead’s “Kid A” and Cole Porter’s “Everything I Love.”  No matter what the influence or intent of the arrangement, it’s two feet dead center of Big Band Jazz territory, solid.

Released on the Origin Arts label.

Download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist and label.

Available at:  eMusic MP3 | Amazon CD | Amazon MP3

 

*****

A portion of this review was originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights to that reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ reprint courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2013  eMusic.com, Inc.

As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig.  Cheers.