BOSTON, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Boston has joined the ranks of U.S. and European cities that have their own resident repertory jazz orchestras.
The Boston Jazz Repertory Orchestra joins, among others, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in New York, the Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra in Washington, D.C., the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and the late Bill Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble.
Led by saxophonist Carl Atkins and trombonist Bill Lowe, the BJRO takes a different tack, putting a contemporary creative spin on music of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Count Basie, Jabbo Ware, Sun Ra and others, It also features new compositions and arrangements from Lowe, Atkins and other band members.
Bassist Avery Sharpe, a regular sideman to pianist McCoy Tyner, joined the BJRO for a Boston Arts Festival performance last weekend. "We've been discussing having Avery with some future projects", said Lowe. "He's rock-steady. Along with being local, Avery is known internationally, so it's great to have him with the BJRO."
