​Original posted  on JAZZIZ Thursday, Jan 9, 2023
by MATT MICUCCI

Award-winning trumpeter/composer David Perrico introduces the world to his latest creation: the spectacular 68-piece orchestra Pop Symphonic.

Classically-trained trumpeter and award-winning conductor/composed/arranger David Perrico is one of the most in-demand musicians on the Los Angeles scene and has been wowing audiences with his bands, including his acclaimed Pop Strings Orchestra and as the Music Director of the NFL Las Vegas Raiders. With his latest album, Sidewalk, he introduces his latest creation, Pop Symphonic, a 68-piece orchestra including 60 of Las Vegas’s finest musicians and eight power-house vocalists.

This spectacular ensemble unleashes the muscular side of its sound on its powerful title track, a symphonic fusion of many genres including pop, jazz and classic rock, complete with stylistic nods to such greats as Chuck Mangione and Maynard Ferguson. This track, which you can hear via the player below, opens the album’s program of ten original compositions and orchestrations signed by Perrico himself, traversing a wide range of moods and emotions and written specifically for a 21st-century Pops Orchestra.
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David Perrico Pop Symphonic’s Sidewalk is available now and you can order it HERE. You can also find out more about the record in our recent JAZZIZ Podcast conversation with Perrico. Listen to it here.

Original posted Thursday, Jan 5, 2023
by MATT MICUCCI

The editors of JAZZIZ have the good fortune of being able to listen to new music before it’s officially released in stores and streaming platforms. And because we’re always listening to new tunes, we always know just what to recommend. That’s why we’ll bring you a roundup of ten songs each Monday, featuring music from our favorite new albums, singles and other tunes that may have flown under your radar. And, for good measure, we’ll be throwing in some “golden oldies” as well…

We kick off the playlist with “Love Song,” the opening track from Peggy Lee’s Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota, the 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of which was released recently on Capitol/UMe. Following is “Urbanessence,” the title track from the second solo album by trumpeter/composer Tito Carrillo, and “An Upturned Crab,” a new single from James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra that also features the talents of Radiohead’s Philip Selway and is included on The Great White Sea Eagle.

Trupeter/arranger Phil Lassiter leads a vivacious 24-piece ensemble on “Simmer Down.” Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding take on “But Not For Me” in the opener to their duo album, Alive at the Village Vanguard, released today. “One G and Two J’s” is a Bo Diddley-inspired jazz-rock jam from guitarist/composer Grant Geissman, featuring a three-guitar lineup with Josh Smith and Joe Bonamassa, from the GRAMMY-nominated BLOOZ.

David Perrico introduced his latest creation, his 68-piece orchestra Pop Symphonic, on his latest album, Sidewalk, featuring “La Promessa.” You can find out more about the project in our recent JAZZIZ Podcast conversation with the trumpeter/composer. “Refuge” is the opening track from pianist/composer Geoffrey Keezer’s latest and independently-released album, Playdate. The track recently received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Instrumental Composition.

The Royal Bopsters’ recently released the 10th-anniversary edition of their self-titled landmark 2015 album, including the bonus track “Jazz Jump,” which you can hear on this playlist. And our conclusive track is “Catamaran,” the opener from pianist/accordionist/composer Ben Rosenblum’s fourth album, A Thousand Pebbles, released today and featuring his extraordinary seven-piece group, Nebula Project.
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Listen to this weekend’s JAZZIZ Editors’ Choice Playlist via the player below.