An incredible sound charged out of Pearl's. I marched in and was met immediately with the glorious chaos that is the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra...Good God, these guys can play!
The West Coast's answer to the Vanguard Orchestra in New York City, the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra has been playing Monday nights at Pearl's in San Francisco for over 10 years. Led by saxophonist Alex Budman, the band features some of San Francisco's top musicians, composers and arrangers performing originals, and music from the foremost composers in the modern big band tradition such as Thad Jones, Oliver Nelson, Frank Foster and Charles Mingus. They have performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Fillmore Jazz Festival, San Francisco's Black and White Ball and Yoshi's.
1. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY (4:45)
2. LITTLE PRAYER (9:38)
3. SAMBA IN 7 (9:28)
4. GIROLATA (6:42)
5. MOOD FOR A TIME (5:11)
6. SIDEWAVE (7:24)
7. WHEN WE WALKED IN THE SUN (6:14)
8. THE CROXMONT JIVE (9:41)
9. BALLAD FOR BENNY (3:50)
Alex Budman and the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra:
Alex Budman - alto, soprano, tenor saxophones, clarinet
Charles McNeal - alto saxophone
Tod Dickow - tenor saxophone
Eric Crystal - tenor saxophone (2,3,4,6,7,8,9)
Alex Murzyn - tenor saxophone (1,5)
Doug Rowan - baritone saxophone
Dave Scott - lead trumpet, flugelhorn
Steffen Kuehn - trumpet, flugelhorn
Joel Behrman - trumpet, flugelhorn
Mike Olmos - trumpet, flugelhorn
Derek James - trombone, bass trombone (5)
Adam Theis - trombone (2,4,6,7,9)
John Brummel - trombone (1,3,5,8)
Mike Rinta - trombone
Chuck Bennett - bass trombone
Leonard Thompson - piano
Lorenzo Farrell - acoustic bass
Brian Fishler - drums
Guests:
John Gove - trombone solo (1), trombone choir (5)
Dan Feiszli - acoustic bass (1)
Justin Morell - guitar (3)
Jesus Diaz - congas, chekere, bell, bata (4)
Marco Diaz - piano (4)
David Flores - drum set (4)
Produced by Alex Budman
Recorded at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA on Feb 7-9, 2005
Engineered by Dan Feiszli, assisted by Chris Konovaliv
Mixed by Steve Baughman at Record One, Sherman Oaks, CA
Mix assisted by Jeremiah Kurasz
Mastered by Paul du Gre, Van Nuys, CA
Percussion recorded at Monolith Studios, Oakland, CA
Layout/Design by John Bishop
Cover art by Tricia Atlas
Session photos by Steffen Kuehn
All About Jazz (Jack Bowers)
Mass Pleasure is the fourth album by the San Francisco-based Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, which is contemporary in the best sense of the word; that is, belonging to this age and time. While the nine charts are as modern as one could envision, they are firmly grounded in time-honored jazz and musical tradition, never forswearing rhythmic or harmonic ...
Sacramento Radio (Dick Crockett)
Alex Budman and others on this San Francisco CD may not be as well known but listening to this
gives an accurate picture how �monster' talented these guys really are... There's a taste of Slide Hampton and Joe Henderson orchestrations here. Up and down the coast reflects an eager jazz reflection as there's a very hip elegant underscore here, wit ...
Sacramento Radio (Dick Crockett)
ALEX BUDMAN AND THE CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ORCHESTRA is next on the agenda with something so nice and free, called INSTRUMENTS OF MASS PLEASURE, much like the Joe Henderson Big Band with arrangements that are so very original and progressive and West Coast. We played "Little Prayer" and "Mood For A Time." These are all west coast guys and they play ...
All Music Guide (Adam Greenburg)
Instruments of Mass Pleasure is an insanely good album. The review can end there suitably. The Alex Budman Contemporary Jazz Orchestra is a fixture at Pearl's in San Francisco, with a sound at least somewhat similar to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Here, they take on a series of what are primarily their own compositions with one or two other penned ...
Jazz Review (Edward Blanco)
A fixture at Jazz At Pearls in San Francisco every Monday night for over a decade, The Contemporary Jazz Orchestra led by saxophonist/bandleader, Alex Budman, have just released their first studio album entitled Instruments Of Mass Pleasure. The group has three previous live recordings to their credit, the latest being Monday In The City released i ...
Jazz Times (Harvey Siders)
For over a decade, these San Francisco swingers have had a permanent place at Pearl's, where they can hone their collective and solo chops. Imagine the luxury of being paid to run down material for a recording session. No wonder the comfort level shows on every track of Alex Budman and Co.'s fourth CD.
"Samba in 7," written by bassist Lorenzo F ...
The Davis Enterprise (Ric Bang)
Big band fans who hail from - or have visited - the San Francisco area probably are familiar with the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra.
This wonderful group has been a Bay Area mainstay for more than 10 years, and has performed every Monday evening at Jazz At The Pearl for about the same length of time. Even if you seldom leave the Sacramento area, y ...