Marika Groove
Catalog #: BR8923
Release Date: April 1, 2012
21st CenturyJazzClarinetPercussionIn February 2012, three of today's greatest jazz musicians and arguably the world's top classical clarinetist entered Avatar Studios in New York to record a twelve-minute epic by the legendary Chick Corea. The resulting track, Marika Groove with marimbist Mika (Yoshida) Stoltzman, drummer Steve Gadd, bassist Eddie Gomez, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, captures the brilliance of both the composer and performers in a sprawling cut with constant interplay between the instruments and melodic marimba lines, which (Yoshida) Stoltzman navigates with ease.
In Sea
Catalog #: BR8944
Release Date: March 11, 2016
21st CenturyJazzBig BandIts evident from hearing the jazz big band works of composer, arranger, conductor and trombonist Henry Wolking’s debut album on Big Round Records, IN SEA, that he effectively mixes complexity with simplicity in his jazz harmonies and colorful orchestrations that make for an exciting and memorable listening experience. The inspired solo work of band members and guest artists add to the sincere and fresh cosmopolitan character of the recording.
I Am Not A Virus
Catalog #: BR8966
Release Date: March 12, 2021
21st CenturyJazzPianoSaxophoneTrumpetI AM NOT A VIRUS from composer Jordan VanHemert and Big Round Records, is a collection of contemporary music uniquely fitting for this unprecedented juncture in human history. Called an "excellent outing" by jazz historian Scott Yanow, the collection of lively, piano-driven jazz band performances takes inspiration from a wide swath of timely subjects—everything from the coronavirus pandemic to racially charged police killings and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
Goin’ Home: A Retrospective
Catalog #: BR8946
Release Date: June 10, 2016
21st CenturyJazzCelloPercussionPianoGOIN’ HOME… A RETROSPECTIVE is pianist and composer Gay Pearson’s second release on Big Round Records. The album is a live recording of her most recent annual chamber-jazz concert, featuring an eclectic ensemble with Gay Pearson on piano, John Lockwood on bass, Phil McGowan on drums, Tracy McMullen on saxophone, Lea Pearson on flute, and Shannon Allen on cello. This varied ensemble performs a wide variety of music with different instrumental combinations, from Astor Piazzolla to classic tunes of Chick Corea, Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern, to more contemporary original compositions by Pearson herself.
From the Spirit
Catalog #: BR8934
Release Date: May 27, 2014
21st CenturyJazzGuitarPianoSaxophoneBirdland. The Village Vanguard. The Jazz Standard. Just a few of the New York clubs that have saturated the city's streets with the smooth sounds of jazz. Within this tradition, New York-native pianist and composer Bunny Beck presents seven cool and swinging original compositions as well as an arrangement of Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" on her second release on Big Round Records, FROM THE SPIRIT. Featuring saxophonist Matt Blostein, guitarist Ed MacEachen, bassist Tom Hubbard, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza, with Bunny Beck on piano, the Bunny Beck Jazz Ensemble highlights crisp and expressive improvisations while occasionally breaking into Latin rhythms. This album captures the relaxed and refined atmosphere emanating from those New York clubs.
Detours
Catalog #: BR8938
Release Date: May 12, 2015
20th Century21st CenturyJazzPercussionPianoDETOURS, the debut Big Round Records release from percussionist Joe Porter and pianist Joel Goodfellow, showcases the jazz duo's capacity for collaboration and improvisation, with animated and dynamic versions of well-known film and literary compositions.
Chat Chill Highline
Catalog #: BR8937
Release Date: November 11, 2014
21st CenturyJazzBig BandOn her debut Big Round Records release, CHAT CHILL HIGHLINE, composer Christina Rusnak presents works arranged for big band and large jazz ensemble, illustrating manners in which we interact with others and our environments such as conversing, observing, and absorbing. Composed during the rising popularity of internet chatrooms, Chat reflects on the energy and the sounds of movement, the multitude of voices, and the interweaving of conversations created in virtual and real social gatherings.
Birth of a City
Catalog #: BR8956
Release Date: July 26, 2019
21st CenturyJazzPercussionPianoString QuartetEven though the tracks on BIRTH OF A CITY are loosely grouped by their titles, the recording is very much a concept album. Haney, himself an accomplished pianist who also studied composition, scored the pieces for a kind of string quartet (violin – viola – cello – double bass), interspersed by varying quantities of brass instruments and percussion. Naturally, as one would expect from this kind of music, all works are scored with exactitude – for the most part, that is. Remarkably, Haney grants the performers a great amount of improvisatory freedom – indubitably owing to his own background in jazz, the genre which definitely and definitively shines through in all his compositions.
Bigband Electronics
Catalog #: BR8963
Release Date: November 13, 2020
21st CenturyJazzBig BandElectronicFresh from Big Round Records comes the Cotatcha Orchestra’s BIGBANDOVÁ ELEKTRONIKA/BIGBAND ELECTRONICS. As its name suggests, this unprecedented album pairs original big band music with electronic music, concocting a sound—and perhaps even a brand new genre—that listeners have never heard before.
Big Round Sound Vol. 1
Catalog #: BR8942
Release Date: July 10, 2015
20th Century21st CenturyChamberJazzGuitarHarpPianoBig Round Record's first installment of its compilation series, BIG ROUND SOUND VOL. 1, presents a deep cross-section of the label's contemporary and eclectic catalog. From jazz and world music to folk, fusion, and progressive rock, this album features performances by Tony R. Clef, the Oscuro Quintet, Andy Jaffe and Branford Marsalis, Sophie Dunér, the Larksong Trio, Anne Vanschothorst, Juan Álamo, Jean-Philippe Grégoire, and more in works by Christina Rusnak, Svjetlana Bukvich, Sebastiano Meloni, Ecco La Musica, Bunny Beck, and others.
An Imperfect Storm
Catalog #: BR8907
Release Date: May 25, 2010
21st CenturyJazzOrchestralBig BandOrchestraSaxophoneAndy Jaffe’s precise-yet-swinging big band jazz compositions shine on his premiere Big Round release, from a playful rendition of Nat King Cole’s Straighten Up and Fly Right to the sprawling Porticulture suite.
A Sinister Endeavor
Catalog #: BR8941
Release Date: July 10, 2015
21st CenturyJazzCelloPercussionPianoOn her debut Big Round Records release, A SINISTER ENDEAVOR, composer and pianist Gay Pearson presents a collection of works that highlight her eclectic quintet - consisting of piano, bass, drums, flute, and cello - and their colorful, introspective, and energetic performances. Recorded live in Newburyport MA, this album presents original works by Pearson, including Zonal and Meridional Flow, with its classical counterpoint and 4-part polyphony; the energetic solo piano piece Cirrus High; and An Ionian Emitter, which uses complex rhythms and syncopation.
A Bissell Rhythm
Catalog #: BR8955
Release Date: February 8, 2019
21st CenturyJazzClarinetPercussionPianoA BISSEL RHYTHM is composer and clarinetist Paul Green’s PARMA Recordings debut, although it marks his second recorded exploration into the fusion between jazz and Jewish music. A performance at Merkin Concert Hall resulted in the New York Times extolling his talents: “Like a cobra intent on doing some charming of its own, the clarinetist Paul Green weaved, darted and hovered over his instrument…conjuring gorgeous sounds.”