High-Interest CDs

I trekked one night last week to Typhoon, the restaurant/jazz club adjacent to Santa Monica Airport's main runway, to hear the wonderful Pat Longo big band. My visit brought me back in contact with a number of friends of the BBAA who were on the bandstand, including trumpeter Carl Saunders, saxman Thom Mason and pianist Ben Di Tosti. 

Two other members of the ensemble favored me with CDs of theirs that deserve your attention.

"Whatever Floats Your Boat Bone" (that's the title!) stars trombonist Roy Wiegand with his own big band on 11 tracks ranging from Bach/Gounod to Matt Dennis, Gershwin to Jose Feliciano. Of course, the Bach/Gounod selection could be none other than "Ave Maria," on which Roy's solo work is the model of restraint. By contrast, the band swings its head off on "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," as well as on a Wiegand original, "All By Myself in the Rain in New Orleans."

To reach Roy and learn about obtaining copies of his disc, e-mail him at roywiegand@att.net.


Also enhancing the BBAA's record library through her generosity was vocalist Nancy Osborne. Nancy's comprehensive website includes a section -- www.nancyosborne.net/audio.htm -- devoted to her two CDs, "Hot Swing, Cool Jazz" and "Songs in the Key of Love." Among many treats, the former features an uptempo take on "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead," which Nancy performed with the Longo band at Typhoon, dedicating it to her former mother-in-law.

The brand-new "Songs in the Key of Love" finds Nancy more at peace with her relatives. With the aid of a combo led by guitarist/arranger Don Peake, Nancy charms as easily on standards such as "Tenderly" and "That Old Black Magic" as she does with the lesser-known delights "Like A Lover" (lyric by Alan & Marilyn Bergman) and Laura Nyro's "I Never Meant to Hurt You." And in addition to offering audio samples from both albums, Nancy's website contains links to order physical CDs or download titles from iTunes.

The Big Band Academy salutes Roy and Nancy. We heartily encourage your support of their endeavors.

Oh, if anyone from Typhoon happens to see this, you really could benefit from more prominent signage. Nancy was nearly late to last week's gig, having gotten lost looking for the restaurant. And at twilight, I missed it myself the first time I drove by. It would be exciting, but ending up on a runway is something we all should probably try to avoid. Thanks, guys!