Jazz Project Big Band
The Music of Ken Downing-Thanks for the Memories
© 2005 John Hurst
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A contemporary swinging big band playing original compositions and standards.
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The San Diego-based Jazz Project Big Band is in the tradition of Basie, Ellington, Herman, Kenton and Rich. The band features the arrangements of such notables as Ken Downing, Sammy Nestico, Tom Kubis, Phil Woods, Mark Taylor and other contemporary writers as well as original arrangements and compositions by lead trumpet Marty Conley.
It was an honor for the Band to have been part of preserving the magic and artistry of Ken Downing.
His creativity and harmonic cleverness are refreshing and his music, like classical music, is timeless. Ken wrote most of the charts on this recording 30 to 40 years ago, but hopefully this project will keep his music alive for years to come. To be in the company of this man's music was enlivening.
Ken Downing was born and educated in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attained a Bachelors and Masters Degree from the University of Tulsa in music performance, composition and teaching. His lifetime of work included over 600 arrangements and compositions.
Ken studied and worked professionally in New York and Hollywood and toured with several major big bands in the 1940's and 1950's. After returning to Oklahoma, he taught music performance and composition in public schools and colleges.
Ken organized, directed and performed with the Tulsa Jazz Concert Band (TJCB). They performed at the Wichita Jazz Festival and Kansas City Jazz Festival. In the Tulsa area the TJCB presented free concerts for 30 years. Ken also coordinated arranged and recorded music for numerous and varied performers. He wrote and arranged for small combos, symphonic orchestras and big bands, including the Air Force Performance Band and the Marine Band.
Ken's life was lived for and through music. Sounds an harmony were the essence of his life. The music of Ravel was one of the most significant influences on Ken's writing. It was this type of music that inspired him to write non-traditional harmonies.
Jazz was his love. If he wasn't playing it or writing it, he was reading and studying it ... right up until three weeks before he died of cancer in 1983 at the age of 55.
In 1999, Ken Downing was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
reviews
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drummer
author: Jean DownIt is great
Talented and experienced group!
author: Michael SmithThis very talented and experienced group of San Diego Jazz artists who have produced a high quality, interesting and original album of jazz. Studio West, the highly acclaimed San Diego area studio recorded and mixed the music, so expect very good quality sound. This is not your grandpa's big band. Many of the soloists played "on the road" for years and maintain a high level of energy. This is an album with a couple of recognized jazz standards, but largely the original compositions of Ken Downing, a highly regarded educator and player from Oklahoma. The CD is in the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, so it is a star quality piece of independent production, highly reviewed in Jazz mags all around the world. This is a quality listen! ENJOY!
My uncle, Ken, was one of the good guys as well as a really talented musician
author: John SwetnamMy uncle, Ken, was one of the good guys as well as a really talented musician. Hearing this CD was like getting to listen to Ken and his big band in Tulsa when I was a kid. Thanks for the memories is just how I feel about this beautiful big band jazz.
music and musicians were as good as it gets
author: David OstranderIf anybody cares I was a student of Ken and went to Kc Jazz Fest. The sound and musicianship on this cd was exellent. Thanks, David