The debut of my Assembláge Jazz Orchestra on April 3rd at Birdland in New York City was a huge success.
Assembláge is anamalgam of players from various cultures and backgrounds, visually, as well as musically, striking.
Birdland Concert April 3rd 2022
Reviewed by Holli Harms Front Row Center:
Music transports us, moves us, and goes to deep unconscious places in our bodies and mind. Ed Neumeister’s and his remarkable jazz orchestra did that and more at Birdland.
Neumeister has been in the business of creating music for over fifty years. He is an experimentalist, improviser, and composer of jazz. His show will have you tapping your feet, closing your eyes as you listen to stunning music, watching with your mouth open as Neumeister wills his trombone to speak to you, and you’ll cheer at the rise and fall of the music and the remarkable ensemble of sound.
The orchestra is 17 multi-generational musicians and a grand piano pinched together on the small Birdland stage and is made up of both seasoned musicians playing alongside those fresh out of school. What makes the show so wonderful is that all of them are having almost as much fun as we are.
This performance marked the World Premiere of Neumeister’s NYC Assembláge Jazz Orchestra, which Neumeister describes as, “a diverse and inclusive jazz orchestra,” calling it, “Schoenberg meets Monk meets Sun Ra, with a little Lutoslawski and James Brown thrown in for spice.”.......
It was a beautiful, exhilarating, and thought-provoking performance. Ed Neumeister is the Picasso of music. Testing the grounds of music and in the process creating his own unique style and sound that should not be missed. He is a treasure of the music world.
Read Full Review here.
Ed Neumeister's Assembláge Jazz Orchestra features: Ben Kono, Caroline Davis, Adam Kolker, Hillai Govreen, Lo Wood, Liesl Whitaker, Augie Haas, Diego Uroola, Freddie Hendrix, James Burton, Ron Wilkins, Deborah Weisz, Jennifer Hinkle, Pete McCann, Neil Kirkwood, Chris Tordini and Jon Wikan
Streaming Release May 30, 2022.
Now available on your favorite streaming platforms and at BandCamp