“Bring Forth Change”, set to hit all streaming platforms on May 29, 2020 marks BT ALC Big Band’s first collaboration with record label Vintage League Music. The band had the opportunity to work with VLM founder and curator Alan Evans on their 4th album “The Search For Peace” (Ropeadope). “During the Search For Peace sessions, Al was inspiring to work with from pre production, to recording, to mixing and finally releasing. It was a no brainer to partner up with him again” says BT ALC Big Band co-leader Brian Thomas.
The idea to record “Bring Forth Change” was put in motion after Evans and Thomas were chatting about the possibilities of remotely tracking for a 19 piece band under the current social distancing protocol we’re all following. BT ALC Big Band co-leader Alex Lee-Clark joined the conversation and agreed that enough band members had the technological capabilities to get the job done. Evans and organist Darby Wolf got right to work and layed down the initial track and shared it with the rest of the band. One by one, each member recorded and submitted their part as Evans began to masterfully piece it together, achieving amazing results. In addition to the treat of having Evans playing drums, BT ALC Big Band mobilized special guests Nigel Hall & Eric Bloom from Lettuce. Hall’s vocal tracks add depth and support to the powerful13 piece horn section and Bloom takes the listener on a virtuosic improvisational journey as the rhythm section grooves underneath. “Lettuce is one of the torch bearers for anybody playing this music, and Hall and Bloom are some of the best in the world at what they do”, says Lee-Clark.
Since the group’s formation in 2011, BT ALC Big Band has gained a reputation for hard grooving original compositions featuring the most talented jazz and funk musicians in Boston. BT ALC Big Band draws from the big band traditions of Duke Ellington and Count Basie then infuses music from funk legends like James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, and The Meters, creating an undeniably unique sound, Big Band Funk.