New release: Mike Fahie Jazz Orchestra’s ‘Urban(e)’

We’re announcing a new artist: trombonist and composer Mike Fahie!

On August 28th, we’ll be releasing, Urban(e), the debut album from the Mike Fahie Jazz Orchestra. The recording is a collection of Fahie’s stunning arrangements of works by seven classical composers celebrating the cross-pollination of these two musics, fusing them into one cohesive sound.

Produced by esteemed composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue, the album represents over 200 years of musical invention, presented through a jazz lens including subtle undertones of blues, rock, and soul with interpretations of well-known works from the classical repertoire including Stravinsky’s “The Firebird”, a Bach Cantata, a prelude by Debussy, and perhaps the world’s most well-known opera aria, Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma.”

Mike has been leading the ensemble since 2012, and the band features a host of New York’s best creative musicians including saxophonists Aaron Irwin, Anton Denner, Chet Doxas, Quinsin Nachoff, and Carl Maraghi; trumpeters Brian Pareschi, David Smith, Sam Hoyt, Brad Mason; trombonists Matthew McDonald, Nick Grinder, Daniel Linden, and Jennifer Wharton; guitarist Jeff Miles; pianist Randy Ingram; bassist Pedro Giraudo; and drummer Jeff Davis.

Listen to Mike discuss the music and how the album came together in this video:

Track Details:

1. Prélude, Op. 28 no. 20 – Frédéric Chopin (07:19)
2. “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot – Giacomo Puccini (7:28)
3. Excerpts from The Firebird – Igor Stravinsky (14:26)
4. La fille aux cheveux de lin from Préludes, Book 1 – Claude Debussy (7:25)
5. String Quartet No. 1, III. Allegro vivace – Béla Bartók (12:19)
6. Symphony No. 6, II. Allegro con grazia – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (9:58)
7. “Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not” from Cantata, BWV 21 – Johann Sebastian Bach (9:40)

Total CD run time: 68:38

Personnel:

Winds: Aaron Irwin, Anton Denner, Chet Doxas, Quinsin Nachoff, Carl Maraghi
Trumpets: Brian Pareschi, David Smith, Sam Hoyt, Brad Mason
Trombones: Matthew McDonald, Nick Grinder, Daniel Linden, Jennifer Wharton
Guitar: Jeff Miles
Piano: Randy Ingram
Bass: Pedro Giraudo
Drums: Jeff Davis

Arrangements, Orchestrations, Trombone, Euphonium: Mike Fahie

Production Credits:

Produced by Darcy James Argue
Recorded at Oktaven Audio
Engineered by Brian Montgomery
Mastered by Michael Perez-Cisneros
Executive Producer – Dave Douglas
Associate Producer – Rob Fahie
Production Assistant – Matthew Morden