big.mdw.band Studio Sessions 2021 - 2024
The big.mdw.band has been under the direction of Markus Geiselhart since the winter semester 2013. Since then, the big band of the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, which is part of the ipop – Department of Popular Music, has each year prepared a programme of traditional jazz in the winter semester and a modern programme in the summer semester. The big.mdw.band is a course that can be attended not only by students of the ipop but also as an elective subject by those studying music education and performance at the mdw. Since the 2016 summer semester, the ipop has collaborated closely with the mdw’s Department of Composition Studies and Music Production, enabling the big band to record a selection from its current programme at the end of each semester. These studio sessions offer the participating music students the opportunity to acquire important studio skills for their professional careers. Students in the music production programme, in turn, are able to gain important practical experience in recording a large ensemble like a big band. Recordings from these studio sessions are now for the first time being made available to a wider audience in the form of a CD.
For this listening experience, three numbers were chosen from the 2021 programme The Music of the Brecker Brothers. The track If You Wanna Boogie... Forget It! is the only live recording on this CD and was recorded in June 2021 at a streaming concert on the Open Air Stage of the mdw campus. From the 2022 traditional winter semester programme, two numbers from Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite are featured: Amad and Isfahan. The CD also includes a tune from the Count Basie programme that was the focus of the 2023/24 winter semester: Deedles’ Blues, originally recorded in 1987 by the Count Basie Orchestra with the singer Diane Schuur and directed by Frank Foster. The big.mdw.band marked the ninetieth birthday of Joe Zawinul in July 2022 by exploring the music of this exceptional Austrian musician over a period of three semesters. Zawinul’s composition Man in the Green Shirt, arranged here by Hans Salomon, was taken from the programme Zawinul 90 – The Music of Weather Report. This arrangement is from the ORF Big Band archive, which is now held in the mdw’s University Library. Jaco Pastorius’s composition Havona is also featured here, while the studio sessions culminate with Joe Zawinul’s Orient Express, from the programme Zawinul 90 – The Syndicate.
Tracklist
01 Rocks
comp. Randy Brecker, arr. Markus Geiselhart
recorded 10. & 17.6.2021, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Benedikt Roß
Solos
David Dolezel (Keyboards), Stephan Lerchbaumer (Baritone-Saxophone)
Line up
Reeds: Florian Wörister, Tanja Machovsky, Jonathan Sohm, Anton Balynskiy, Stephan Lerchbaumer
Trumpets: Stephan Hack, Jonas Friesel, Stefan Riedl, Jordi Roviro
Trombones: Daniele Giaramita, Christian Moser, Michael Gangoly, Jakob Polaschek
Rhythm: David Walcher (Guitar), David Dolezel (Keyboards), Clara Loibersbeck (Bass), Thorsten Kaiser (Bass), Robin Weber (Drums), Amir Wahba (Percussion)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
02 Amad
comp. & arr. Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn
recorded 27.1.2022, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Lukas Kleitsch
Solos
Philipp Laher (Piano), Alexander Putz (Bass), Marcus Bittner (Trombone)
Line up
Reeds: Tomy Molnar, Jonathan Sohm, Stefan Eitzenberger, Mathias Nussbaumer, Stephan Lerchbaumer
Trumpets: Vadim Tosun, Benedikt Fehringer, Jakob Heindl, Raphael Greil
Trombones: Marcus Bittner, Kilian Marchhart, Benedikt Etzel
Rhythm: Philipp Laher (Piano), Alexander Putz (Bass), Tim Schweiger (Drums)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
03 Deedles' Blues
comp. & lyrics Morgan Ames, arr. Frank Foster
recorded 25.1.2024, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Dominik Vogel
Vocal
Patricia Ruesch
Solo
Oliver Dragovic (Trumpet)
Line up
Vocals: Patricia Ruesch
Reeds: Jasmine Zhang, Xiaochen Yu, Simon Esterbauer, Mathias Nussbaumer, Alen Pavlic
Trumpets: Jakob Heindl, Oliver Dragovic, Eric Ziegelbauer, Florian Gmeiner
Trombones: Leah Kouyoumdjian, Tamás Szalóky, Mark Taddonio, Frederik Abel
Rhythm: Sebastian Sciaraffia-Garay (Guitar), Juan Felipe Pulido (Piano), Wolfgang Schöbitz (Bass), Philipp Müller (Drums)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
04 Isfahan
comp. & arr. Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn
recorded 27.1.2022, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Veronika Weidner
Solo
Tomy Molnar (Alto-Saxophone)
Line up
Reeds: Tomy Molnar, Jonathan Sohm, Stefan Eitzenberger, Mathias Nussbaumer, Stephan Lerchbaumer
Trumpets: Vadim Tosun, Benedikt Fehringer, Jakob Heindl, Raphael Greil
Trombones: Marcus Bittner, Kilian Marchhart, Benedikt Etzel
Rhythm: Alexander Putz (Bass), Lukas Seeber (Drums)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
05 Man in the Green Shirt
comp. Josef Zawinul, arr. Hans Salomon
recorded 10.6.2022, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Fabian Hainzl
Solos
Tomy Molnar (Soprano-Saxophone), Raphael Greil (Trumpet)
Line up
Reeds: Tomy Molnar (Soprano-Saxophone), Jonathan Sohm (Clarinet), Stefan Eitzenberger (Clarinet & Soprano-Saxophone), Mathias Nussbaumer (Tenor-Saxophone), Stephan Lerchbaumer (Clarinet)
Trumpets: Marek Stibor, Jakob Heindl, Raphael Greil, Jonas Friesel
Trombones: Marcus Bittner, Lukas Ludescher, Kilian Marchhart, Benedikt Etzel
Rhythm: Fabian Janiczek (Percussion & Synthesizer), David Mandlburger (Guitar), Markus Windisch (Bass), Tim Schweiger (Drums), Lukas Seeber (Percussion)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
06 What Can a Miracle Do
comp. Don Grolnick & Luther Vandross / arr. Markus Geiselhart / vocal-arr. Clara Montocchio
recorded 10. & 17.6.2021, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Pit Kaufmann
ipop singers
Clara Montocchio, Clara Loibersbeck, Michael Florendo, Oscar Schöller
Solo
Jordi Roviro (Trumpet)
Line up
ipop Singers: Clara Montocchio, Clara Loibersbeck, Michael Florendo, Oscar Schöller
Reeds: Florian Wörister, Tanja Machovsky, Jonathan Sohm, Anton Balynskiy, Stephan Lerchbaumer
Trumpets: Stephan Hack, Jonas Friesel, Stefan Riedl, Jordi Roviro
Trombones: Daniele Giaramita, Christian Moser, Michael Gangoly, Jakob Polaschek
Rhythm: David Walcher (Guitar), David Dolezel (Keyboards), Xaver Nahler (Keyboards), Thorsten Kaiser (Bass), Robin Weber (Drums), Amir Wahba (Percussion)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
07 Havona
comp. Jaco Pastorius, arr. Markus Geiselhart
recorded 10.6.2022, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Chris Jainek
Solos
Stefan Eitzenberger (Soprano-Saxophone), Jordi Roviro (Trumpet), Markus Windisch (Bass)
Line up
Reeds: Tomy Molnar (Alto-Saxophone), Jonathan Sohm (Alto-Saxophone), Stefan Eitzenberger (Soprano-Saxophone), Mathias Nussbaumer (Tenor-Saxophone), Stephan Lerchbaumer (Baritone-Saxophone )
Trumpets: Marek Stibor, Jakob Heindl, Max Wintersperger, Jordi Roviro
Trombones: Marcus Bittner, Markus Geiselhart, Kilian Marchhart, Benedikt Etzel
Rhythm: Fabian Janiczek (Piano & Synthesizer), David Mandlburger (Guitar), Markus Windisch (Bass), Lukas Seeber (Drums), Tim Schweiger (Percussion)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
08 If You Wanna Boogie…Forget It! (live)
comp. Don Grolnick, Steve Khan, Will Lee / arr. Markus Geiselhart
live recorded 9.6.2021, Open Air Stage, mdw Campus by Benjamin Wuthe
Vocals
Michael Florendo
Solo
Florian Wörister (Alto-Saxophone)
Line up
Vocal: Michael Florendo
Reeds: Florian Wörister, Tanja Machovsky, Jonathan Sohm, Anton Balynskiy, Stephan Lerchbaumer
Trumpets: Stephan Hack, Jonas Friesel, Stefan Riedl, Jordi Roviro
Trombones: Daniele Giaramita, Christian Moser, Michael Gangoly, Jakob Polaschek
Rhythm: David Walcher (Guitar), David Dolezel (Keyboards), Thorsten Kaiser (Bass), Robin Weber (Drums), Amir Wahba (Percussion)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
09 Orient Express
comp. Josef Zawinul, arr. Markus Geiselhart
recorded 15.6.2023, Recording Hall Future Art Lab, mdw Campus by Mario Niehren
Solos
Alexander Vounelakos (Synthesizer), Stephan Lerchbaumer (Baritone-Saxophone), Tobias Neuwirth (Drums), Johannes Gungl (Percussion)
Line up
Vocals: Luise Hanel, Eva Papic
Reeds: Nicolas Urban, Roman Polzer, Leonhard Riepler, Mathias Nussbaumer, Stephan Lerchbaumer
Trumpets: Jakob Heindl, Marius Auer, Lukas Leutgeb, Daniel Lopez Cortes
Horn: Marion Unger
Trombones: Leah Kouyoumdjian, Yannick Bösch, Kilian Marchhart, Frederik Abel
Rhythm: Giuliano Sannicandro (Guitar), Alexander Vounelakos (Piano), Valentin Ak (Bass), Tobias Neuwirth (Drums), Johannes Gungl (Percussion)
Conductor: Markus Geiselhart
Further information
Recorded between June 2021 and January 2024 in the Recording Hall of the Future Art Lab at the mdw – University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna (tracks 1–7, 9) and live (track 8) on the Open Air Stage of the mdw campus. All tracks were recorded by Tonmeister students as part of their studies.
Recording, Editing & Mixing supervised by: Mischa Janisch