Grammy Award winning Arranger and Band Leader Bill Holman brings us his jazz big band recorded live in 2004. Bill Holman introduces many new and exciting compositions and arrangements with his star packed LA based jazz big band. The Bill Holman Band is considered one of the greatest working big bands in jazz today.
Musicians:
Carl Saunders, Pete DiSiena, Ron Stout, Bob Summers (trumpets), Jack Redmond, Bob Endevoldsen, Andy Martin, Craig Gosnell (trombones), Lanny Morgan, Bruce Babad, Doug Webb, Ray Hermann, Bob Efford, (saxophones), Christian Jacob (piano), Joel Hamilton (bass), Kevin Kanner (drums).
Tracklisting:
1. Introduction (NO MUSIC)
2. Woodrow
3. A Day In The Life
4. Bary Me Not
5. Band Introductions (NO MUSIC)
6. Donna Lee
7. Blue Daniel
8. Press One
9. The Bebop Love Song
10. Zoot 'n' Al
Recorded Live, September 30, 2004 at LAX Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Los Angeles, California.

Review:
"This is the first album since 1997 by The Bill Holman Band. Why there was so long an interregnum between recordings by an essential cultural institution requires a discussion of conditions in the music industry and the society at large. You will not find that discussion here. Let us simply shout hooray, and praise impresario Ken Poston for including the band in one of his periodic jazz events, and Graham Carter of Jazzed Media for capturing the performance.
Typical of how a slightly older generation of arrangers regards Holman is something the late Ralph Burns told me about Willis's writing: "It's pure jazz, but he writes everything very classically. It's linear and simple and clear." From one younger arranger, Bill Kirchner: "His linear concepts are among the most important innovations ever used in a jazz orchestra," and another, Don Sebesky: "I hear nothing, past or present, that comes close to (his writing) because he combines the objective and subjective parts of music into a seamless whole." From a contemporary, Bob Brookmeyer: "Of all the other peoples' music I've played in my life, I'd rather play Bill Holman's. He makes it such a delight. It's so naturally well crafted that it speaks when you play it."
Some of the members of the 2004 edition of the band are new since Holman's last recording, but the musicianship and camaraderie are on the same high plane. In the course of the concert recording, Willis introduces the band and identifies the soloists. To shanghai the nearest applicable cliché, the music speaks for itself."
Doug Ramsey