Big bands may be a rarity as a professional touring concept, but in the university setting they thrive, thanks to exceptional teachers like Gailey, from the University of Kansas. Gailey's compositions and arrangements for this group, made up of polished professionals, bristle with electricity, as on the pounding swing and horn punches of the opener, "Audacity," which features counterpoint stabs of chordal fortitude. There are moments of lighter touch too, as on the meandering "Point No Point," which shows off the nimble guitar work of Steve Kovalcheck, and "Early Light," a rich ballad by tenor saxophonist Don Aliquo. But it's the bigger sounds that truly make this disc hop, as on the swinging "In a Big Way" and the modal "11th Hour (for Michael Brecker)" which captures the driving essence of the late saxophonist.