| Jazz Fusion, Prog' Rock |
A Big Band Like No Other: Ed Palermo Rewrites the Rules of Jazz
This is not your grandfather’s big band. Ed Palermo’s outfit tears through the genre’s conventions with the ferocity of a rock guitarist and the curiosity of a musical alchemist. Rooted in rock and the textures of contemporary music, yet unmistakably jazz at its core, Palermo’s Big Band is brash, surprising, hilarious, even downright festive. If you’re the kind of listener who enjoys offbeat reinterpretations of beloved (or obscure) works, buckle up: this sonic troublemaker will dazzle and delight you with every twist. In fact, there’s something unmistakably 1970s about it, not just in the technicolor album art, but in the bold, kaleidoscopic architecture of the arrangements.
Put through Palermo’s stereophonic blender are works by Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, The Police, Pat Metheny, even some of his own compositions, each transformed into a vibrant, labyrinthine journey. There’s pleasure in getting lost here, especially as familiar tunes from decades past are dusted off and recast with unexpected flair.
Thanks to the press notes, we learn that jazz legend Gil Evans once said: “The first time I heard Ed Palermo’s music was in a little club in SoHo, Manhattan. He used traditional big band instrumentation, but his arrangements and compositions were anything but traditional. Every time I thought the music was heading one way, it veered off somewhere else. Ed has this remarkable ability to balance coherence with unpredictability. His music is alive. It’s now.”
And that, in essence, says it all. The term Big Band might be emblazoned on the cover, but make no mistake: this is Ed Palermo’s playground, his personal instrument, twisted and bent at will for his own amusement, and ours. A genre unto himself, Palermo is a musician of rare pedigree. He has played alongside titans like Aretha Franklin, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Celia Cruz, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, Lou Rawls, Melba Moore, Debbie Gibson, and The Spinners. He’s also arranged for the Tonight Show, Maurice Hines, and Eddy Fischer, not to mention orchestrating a James Brown concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
Everything here is grandiose, unhinged, almost decadent. You half expect clouds of colored smoke and fireworks to erupt from your speakers. Palermo’s music feels like a psychedelic comic strip come to life, a nod perhaps to the anarchic brilliance of Gotlib and his mischievous ladybug scribbled in the margins. But who could complain when the results are this glorious? Few artists possess such a singular vision, and even fewer have the guts to fully own it. Palermo does, and thank the jazz gods for that.
Let’s be clear: Ed Palermo is not “just another jazz musician.” When most people hear “big band,” they groan, “Oh no, not jazz…” But step into the world of the Ed Palermo Big Band and you might hear Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, The Police, Pat Metheny, or one of Palermo’s own lush, unpredictable creations.
Rush out and grab this album. You probably won’t regret it.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, May 4th 2025
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THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND:
ED PALERMO – arranger, bandleader
CLIFF LYONS – alto sax
PHIL CHESTER – alto sax, soprano sax
BILL STRAUB – tenor sax
BEN KONO – tenor sax
BARBARA CIFELLI – baritone sax
RONNIE BUTTACAVOLI – lead trumpet
JOHN BAILEY – trumpet
AUGIE HAAS – trumpet
BOBBY SPELLMAN – trumpet
CHARLEY GORDON – lead trombone
MIKE BOSCHEN – trombone
MATT INGMAN – bass trombone, tuba
BRUCE McDANIEL – arranger, vocals, guitar
KATIE JACOBY – violin
BOB QUARANTA – piano
TED KOOSHIAN – keyboard
PAUL ADAMY – bass
RAY MARCHICA – drums
and special guest:
MIKE KENEALLY – guitar, backing vocals
Solists:
RESOLUTION: Bruce McDaniel, vocals
LONG DISTANCE RUNAROUND: Ben Kono, tenor sax
SNAKE OIL: Katie Jacoby, violin
THERE’S NO MYSTERY ABOUT MY G-SPOT: Phil Chester, soprano sax
MYSTIC KNIGHTS OF THE SEA: Ben Kono, tenor sax
ON THE MILKY WAY EXPRESS: Bill Straub, tenor sax
TAKE A PEBBLE: Phil Chester, soprano sax
ONE WORD: Katie Jacoby, violin
THE FISH: Bob Quaranta, piano
BLACK HOLE SUN: Bruce McDaniel, vocals; Mike Keneally, guitar, background vocals
PICTURES OF A CITY: Bruce McDaniel, vocals
Tracklist:
RESOLUTION (John McLaughlin)
BLACK HOLE SUN intro / BODHISATTVA (Chris Cornell / Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
THERE COMES A TIME (Tony Williams)
TARKUS (Keith Emerson, Greg Lake)
VROOOM (Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto)
LONG DISTANCE RUNAROUND (Jon Anderson) SNAKE OIL (Tony Newton)
G-SPOT TORNADO / RESOLUTION / JINGO (Frank Zappa / John McLaughlin / Babatunde Olatunji)
VROOOM VROOOM (Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto)
THERE’S NO MYSTERY ABOUT MY G-SPOT (Chick Corea / Frank Zappa)
SPANISH G-SPOT TORNADO (Chick Corea / Frank Zappa
MYSTIC KNIGHTS OF THE SEA (Tony Williams)
ON THE MILKY WAY EXPRESS (Wayne Shorter)
TAKE A PEBBLE (Greg Lake)
ONE WORD (John McLaughlin)
THE FISH (Chris Squire)
FRED (Allan Holdsworth)
BLACK HOLE SUN (Chris Cornell)
PICTURES OF A CITY (Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield)