Gordon Goodwin XXL CD

 Hip, Modern, Hollywood Big Band
The writing on this cd by Gordon Goodwin is absolutely out of this world. The band swings mightily in the Buddy Rich, Bob Florence tradition and why not with such luminaries as Michael Brecker(ts), Peter Erskine(ds), Eric Marienthal and Sal Lozano(as & ss), etc.The trumpets led by Wayne Bergeron will gladly tear apart your speakers and you think you've heard it all until you've heard "Hunting Wabbits". It's a Bach invention for brass until Peter Erskine and the timps send Andy Martin(tb)into one of the most swinging interludes ever laid down in a recording studio. Hang on to your hat. This is no under-rehearsed, flat percussion, weak sister of a band. This is the the real thing and for an additional treat how about Johhny Mathis singing the blues? If you don't buy this one, I'm going to tell your mother.
Submitted by Bill D., bostonium (West Roxbury, MA)
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 Tops!
Gordon Goodwin is one of the very best composer/arrangers in jazz. The standard of the performance verges on the miraculous!
Submitted by davmar00 (Queensland,Australia) 
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 There's a lot of great music on this CD
Following in the footsteps of the last album, "Swingin' for the Fences", XXL does not disappoint. The addition of Eddie Daniels and the vocal group on a number of selections gives the album variety, all at a very high level of innovateive writing and performance. You will not get bored listening to this one, over and over again. I hear something new each time. Great fun!
Submitted by jwyse (Vancouver, BC, Canada) 
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 Another Triumph For Gordon Goodwin
What a wonderful follow up to "Swingin' For The Fences". Unlike the first awesome CD this tremendous has vocals interspersed making for a audio animal unlike any other Big Band offering on the market. I've always thought that Take 6 was the quintessential acappella group. Paired with the Phat Band they become a mesmerizing combination. Both these albums are a must for serious Big Band afficiandos. If you've never cared for Johnny Mathis, here he puts himself in a class with Frank Sinatra or Harry Connick, Jr.
Submitted by robinputnam (Lake Villa, IL, USA)
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