JERSEY JAZZ DECEMBER ISSUE

by Joseph Lang

Leader/saxophonist/composer/arranger GREG YASINITSKY has all of these talents on display on YAZZband (YAZZ Recordings – 2018).  With a floating cast of players, and the use of overdubbing, Yasinitsky has created a nine-track collection that swings, excites, and illustrates contemporary big band sounds that avoid the kind of writing excesses and overly long solo interludes that plague many other big band releases.  Yasinitsky has a knack for creating tunes that catch your ears, and sets them in imaginative charts that leave ample room for his players to take interesting but cogent soli.  Yasinitsky, who is a professor in the School of Music at Washington State University, has recruited a stellar roster of players to execute his arrangements.  YAZZband is a joy from start to finish.  (gregyasinitsky.com)