WJO CD DETAILS

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​STEPPIN’ OUT - WJO
Posted: October 11, 2008 
(Winnipeg Free Press - Independent)

On their second release, the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra (WJO) has decided to tackle the Great American Songbook. With a cast of too many musicians to list here, the big band swings through several numbers, including Steppin' Out With My Baby and What is This Thing Called Love, both featuring vocalist Jennifer Hanson, and they also lie back into some gentle ballads, such as Henry Mancini's The Thought Behind Your Smile and Cole Porter's All of You.
Throughout the CD the playing is tight, agile and full of energy, and many of the arrangements by artistic director Richard Gillis and trumpeter Rick Boughton are top-notch. Trombone player Jeff Presslaff gets in on the arranging several times as well, and his three-part piece Oz Suite, which is based on a few themes from the Wizard of Oz, is particularly engaging and certainly the centrepiece of the whole recording.
After 11 years the WJO shows no signs of slowing down and, as this recording proves, they have matured into a solid and confident big band.  
                                                                 -- Michael Wolch 

Steppin’ Out - WJO

Celebrating 10 Years!

Right from the beginning we knew we had something special. It was a small stage that we crowded onto in October of 1997 at the West End Cultural Centre, but that only added to the buzz in the audience and in the band. Even though none of the musicians were paid for the first two concerts, and then badly paid for some time after that, there was no question that there would be a next concert, and then a next season. Eleven seasons and over 60 concerts later there is still no question.
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This is not the first CD for the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. In September, 2004 we released an entirely original CD, which highlighted the variety of composing talent in the band. As a follow-up, we decided to tackle familiar material from the American songbook and challenge ourselves to come with fresh approaches. Here's the result. We hope you like it. We are happy that we've been able to include the WJO's co-founder Sasha Boychouk on this recording, as well as a vocalist we've enjoyed working with over the years, Jennifer Hanson.