Joshua Jern Jazz Orchestra - Midnight Stroll (2019)

Joshua Jern jumps onto the Chicago jazz scene with his brand new big band Joshua Jern Jazz Orchestra. Their debut album Midnight Stroll, collection of all original material written by Jern, features some of the finest musicians in the world who perform/have performed with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Harry Connick, Jr., Maynard Ferguson, Dizzy Gillepsie, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra, Rob Parton Big Band, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and many more. The fine solo work of such musicians as trumpeter Art Davis (Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Frank Mantooth, Kurt Elling), tenor saxophonist Alex Beltran (Merge Quintet, Terry Bartolotta Trio), Doug Scharf (Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Louie Bellson), alto saxophonist Aaron McEvers (Aaron McEvers M-13, Chris Siebold’s PSYCLES), baritone saxophonist Mark Hiebert (New Standard Jazz Orchestra, M-13) are featured on this album alongside such driving forces as the drumming of Greg Fundis (Fareed Haque, Led Zeppelin 2) and the lead trumpet playing of the iconic Roger Ingram (Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Harry Connick, Jr.).

Jern himself is an accomplished local Chicago trumpet player. Having studied trumpet with such world renowned big band trumpeters Roger Ingram and Rob Parton (Rob Parton Big Band, UNT Professor of Jazz Lead Trumpet), Jern keeps busy with theatre work, occasional rock tours, and various Chicago-based big band projects when not running the Joshua Jern Jazz Orchestra. He studied composition with big band composition legend Tom Garling, trombone player and composer/arranger for Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, Frank Mantooth Big Band, Rob Parton Big Band, and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, to name a few. The tracks on Midnight Stroll are eclectic in style, maintaining a classic, almost vintage sound while weaving in such modern elements of cutting edge big band and fusion as to make for an album that feels familiar yet sounds fresh and energetic. Joshua Jern is not afraid to write music that pushes some boundaries of how big band music can sound, but there are plenty of tracks that just plain swing! There is something on this album to satisfy big band jazz fans of all different tastes, from the first funky beats of the title track to the final swingin’ lines of the last cut.