Wednesday, May 30th - 9:00 p.m.

(photos below)

The Jeff Holmes Big Band is loaded with talent. The band plays with enthusiasm, rhythmic precision, great stylistic awareness, and is full of musicians that can read exceptionally well and improvise beautifully. It was a fantastic treat for ITG to be able to have this group of artists perform for us on a headline evening concert. Before each featured trumpet soloist came on stage the band played a number of great tunes that included a vareity of styles, tempos, meters, solo opportunities, and emotional feels. Special mention should be given to the tunes composed by the band's leader Jeff Holmes (an accomplished trumpet and piano player). These included Espirit, an up-tempo tune that opened the program with drive, energy, and really tight rhythms; Of One's Own, a tune metered in five with a great sense of sophistication and flow; and Sweets, a wonderful change of pace throwing us back to the style of the 30s with great soloing by the sax section and from Holmes himself.

Holmes has done some great arranging for his band. Examples of this included Fever, a tune that featured amazing an amazing tenor saxophone "duel" from Paul Lieberman and Geoff Vidal; Don't Explain, a wonderful arrangement of a Billie Holiday tune featuring Holmes on trumpet; African Skies, a complex Michael Brecker Tune that truly showcased this exceptional band; and the Strayhorn/Ellington tunes Take the A Train/Rockin' In Rhythm artfully combined in some fairly sophisticated ways for the band. I want to stress that ALL of the sections of this band were tight, balanced, aware, and accomplished...but the saxophone section was superb in every way. The entire section doubled on many different instruments and soloed with excellent things to say to the audience and to each other. What great fun for all concerned!

If you like to hear lead trumpet playing featured in the jazz ensemble setting, then this concert had to make you feel like a kid in a candy store. Patrick Hession (Maynard Ferguson's last lead trumpet player) was featured on three tunes on the first half including arrangements of Danny Boy, Superman, and Rocky. It was obvious to all why Maynard hired Patrick as his last lead trumpet player. Through all three tunes he displayed great power, presence, range, and volume. Hession's ability to "power-up" the trumpet in the highest register and still play a nice melody in the middle and extremely low registers is astounding. Maynard fans got exactly what they wanted, and audience members who might not have been familiar with that type of trumpet playing got a true initiation into what that special fraternity is all about. The last tune of Hession's set, Rocky, really brought me back to my youth as a high school trumpet player in mid 1970s suburban Chicago, and to the many times I went to various area high schools to see Maynard with his big band perform for his fanatic following (of which I was a fully-vested member). Thank you Patrick, for bringing back those great memories...

How does one describe the artistry of Wayne Bergeron? The man plays with authority, power, attention to detail, an incredibly centered tone that has a core to it that is perfect in its ability to power through the band, and quite simply an awareness of what is going on around him that serves as a model for any musician who can benefit from observing someone at the absolute top of their game. The Jeff Holmes Big Band responded to all this by stepping up and supporting anything and everything Bergeron asked from them...all this with minimal rehearsal of course! Bergeron's set featured the music of Tom Kubis, a friend of Bergeron's, who writes and arranges features for him. Wayne quipped that You Go To My Head, a wonderful arrangment by Kubis was cranked out in the first six innings of a Dodger's game when he mentioned that he needed the arrangement in a hurry. At any rate, ITG was treated to Mr. Bergeron's supreme artistry, and when you get to hear someone doing something they love, and doing it as well or better than anyone in the world today, it provides something you simply don't want to forget... ever. Dear Mr. Bergeron, Thank you for your presence at this, your first ITG Conference... please come back and see us again!