bigbangbigband.com

"Tom is not only a natural leader, he is an outstanding jazz clarinetist & sax player. The vocalist Kelsey Jillette...is one of the best in the business today." - Tim Price

IN JUST OVER Three years, The Big Bang Big Band has already been in residency at Greenwich Village’s renowned jazz club The Garage for neraly two years and become regulars at midtown's dance hot spot, Swing 46. The 10- to 16-piece band has headlined at Manhattan’s Sweet Rhythm, St. Peter’s Church, the Central Park Swings Festival, Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn Working Artist Coalition seasonal openings and Connolly’s, and performs at private and corporate events nationally. Their clean, exhilarating sound honors the classic jazz tradition while infusing it with a vibrant soulful twist; jazz aficionados and new listeners alike are drawn to it.

THE MUSIC: Led by seasoned jazz and big band saxophonist/arranger Tom Abbott, The Big Bang Big Band favors the music of Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson and other such classic swing from the 1930's and 40's. Featuring an extensive and mixed repertoire of both instrumental and vocal tunes, Abbott ranges outside of the classic swing genre to explore the likes of Sun Ra and other modern composers. The result is a band that can both keep swing dancers on their feet all night and captivate a seated audience with their rich, haunting sound.

THE PLAYERS: Abbott leads 15 of his fellow jazz musicians in the project. They are young professionals whose credits include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Birdland, The Blue Note, Lincoln Center, The Hollywood Bowl, The China Club, Joe’s Pub, The Roxy, Minton’s Playhouse, and Tonic, to name a few. They have headlined at international jazz festivals in Marciac, Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam and elsewhere throughout Europe, and have performed on international television and radio.

THE STORY: Abbott decided to create and direct his own orchestra in 2005. He assembled 15 of New York's finest players, choosing driven, younger-generation jazz musicians with a deep appreciation for classic big band music.

"I chose songs that I personally like, from Ray Charles’ ‘One Mint Julep’ to Strayhorn’s ‘Lotus Blossom’ to Benny Carter’s ‘When Lights Are Low,’” he says. “Some are songs that people know and love; others are gems that they may be hearing for the first time.”
"We're not restricted to playing music from one set time period or era,” Abbott says. “We just want to play the music that sounds good, and what better place to dive in than Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Fletcher Henderson.”

“It's just as simple as what sounds good."

ABOUT TOM
(musical director & saxophonist)

Tom Abbott was raised in a family of musicians in Provo, Utah. He has studied with Tony Malaby, Dave Glasser, Ray Smith, Tim Price, and at the New School University Jazz Program in New York City, his home for the last seven years. He has toured Catalonia, Spain twice with The Kelsey Jillette Group, and can also be heard playing with The Dreamland Dance Orchestra, The Blue Vipers, The Heavenly Band, his original free jazz group The Saxes of Evil, and his 10 to 16-piece Big Bang Big Band.

A prolific composer and arranger, Abbott also plays and studies a variety of musical instruments, including baritone, alto, and tenor saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, flute, mandolin, banjo, African percussion, and piano.

Abbott has developed his style from the ground up. Though he plays bebop, modern and free jazz, (he has played with Ahmed Abdullah's Sun Ra Arkestra, Reggie Workman's Coltrane Ensemble and leads a free jazz group of his own) his playing is firmly rooted in the blues. When he is not playing, he is at work writing and arranging for the Big Bang Big Band.