Nikki Birch | February 26, 2025
Right from the jump, the horns hit with crisp urgency, heralding the arrival of Igmar Thomas' Revive Big Band at the Tiny Desk. This is not your grandparents' — or even your great-grandparents' — big band sound. Yes, it feels familiar, but the driving grooves are undeniably hip-hop.
Thomas, whose many hats include trumpeter, composer and musical director, is a founding member of Revive Music Group. The brainchild of the late Meghan Stabile, Revive has created platforms and opportunities, including the big band, for up-and-coming musicians to shine and reshape the landscape of jazz.
In this set, Thomas welcomes fellow founding member Raydar Ellis, associate professor at the Berklee College of Music, to join. Originally produced by Ellis, "TO KINDA LOUNGE AROUND" inspired Thomas to turn the track into his first big band composition. Though he conducts the majority of this set, Thomas also plays a fiery trumpet solo here. Both Ellis and Thomas shout out "fallen soldiers" of the Revive Music Group, including Stabile and the late saxophonists James Casey and Casey Benjamin.
Performing this Tiny Desk concert required Thomas to rearrange all of the tunes for a smaller big band. He does so successfully. Everything stays true to the sonic integrity of his original compositions and the legacy of big band jazz.
SET LIST
"RPM's"
"TO KINDA LOUNGE AROUND"
"THE COMING"
"R&P"
MUSICIANS
Igmar Thomas: conductor, trumpet
Brent Birckhead: alto saxophone
Chelsea Baratz: tenor saxophone
Saul Dautch: baritone saxophone
Miles Keingstein: trumpet
Sam Hoyt: trumpet
Barry Stephenson: bass
James Rogers: bass trombone
Corey A. Wallace: trombone
Alex Heffron: guitar
John Davis: drums
Raydar Ellis: vocals
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