Released March 2023

Released March 2023.

This new video album is available on audio and video.

1. Big Swing Face

2. This I Dig of You

3. Softly As In a Morning Sunrise

4. Sister Sadie

5. Autumn Left

6. Alone Together

7. My Shining Hour

8. Tin Tin Deo

9. Mothlight

10. Groovin' Hard

With its sixth album "Night Mode," the Verve Jazz Ensemble achieves maximum liftoff in its efforts to make the kind of music that fans of straight-ahead jazz crave. The songs are a tantalizing mix of compelling originals, intriguingly interpreted jazz classics and "under-served" gems of the sort leader and drummer Josh Feldstein loves to "blow the dust off" – among them "Drumorello," a delightful experiment by legendary drummer Joe Morello.

"One of our jobs is to find music that is fresh, with melodies we love, and expose them to listeners," said Feldstein. "We're in the entertainment business. Our overall aim is to appeal to everyone from people in their twenties who know nothing about bebop to people in their '80s who grew up in the swing era."

Now a septet with the addition of young alto saxophonist and flutist Alexa Tarantino and trombonist Willie Applewhite, the VJE thrives on expansive arrangements, lively exchanges between tenor and soprano saxophonist Jon Blanck and trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt, deft contributions from pianist Steve Einerson and bassist Elias Bailey and Feldstein's charged, groove-happy drumming.

The ingeniously reworked tunes on "Night Mode" include Benny Golson's "Whisper Not," which with its alternating 4/4 and 3/4 sections; Antonio Carlos Jobim's dreamy "Viva Sonhando," featuring Tarantino's rarely heard alto flute; and Wayne Shorter's "Deluge," a work of perfection that arranger Blanck admits took a bit of courage to take on. Blanck also contributes three challenging originals: the title cut (co-composed with Feldstein), a fetching Latin-accented swinger; "Hypnosis," a dark, spacious tune with smart counter-melodies; and the playful, disarming "Breezy."

The Verve Jazz Ensemble's chart topping album "Connect The Dots” reached #1 on the JazzWeek charts in September 2018, spending 9 weeks at top 10, and was a JazzWeek top 20 album of 2018. The fifth album by the VJE, "Connect The Dots” features jubilant performances of band originals, standards, and lesser-known works by classic jazz and Latin composers. "Connect the Dots" expands the VJE to seven pieces, with New York alto saxophonist / flutist Alexa Tarantino and trombonist Willie Applewhite making their VJE debuts alongside the existing quintet of trumpeter / flugelhornist Tatum Greenblatt, tenor saxophonist Jon Blanck, pianist Steve Einerson, bassist Elias Bailey, and VJE leader and drummer Josh Feldstein.

Available on CD Baby, Amazon, and iTunes!

Track Listing

1.     Bistro (4:45)

2.     Tangerine (3:28)

3.     Connect The Dots (4:39)

4.     Disc Jockey Jump (3:21)

5.     Autumn Left (5:34)

6.     Little Karin (5:41)

7.     On The Run (5:35)

8.     Ceora (5:27)

9.     Intermission Riff (4:21)

10.   Love For Sale (4:38)

11.   My Shining Hour (5:21)

12.   Jumping On The Couch (3:25)

13.   Lil Darlin’ (4:41)

“Swing-A-Nova,” released by the Verve Jazz Ensemble in September 2017, features VJE trio and quartet performances of 10 straight ahead bop and classic bossa / Latin jazz favorites. The album gives the VJE rhythm section of Josh Feldstein (drums), Steve Einerson (piano), and Elias Bailey (bass) the spotlight as a trio, and includes high energy, uptempo performances of such great swingers as “‘Tis Autumn” and “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” together with vibrant Latin performances of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Tin Tin Deo,” “This I Dig of You” by Hank Mobley, “Speak No Evil,” by Wayne Shorter, and many more favorites and standards. From chill sambas to steamy mambos, the trio is joined by the soaring trumpet of Tatum Greenblatt on tracks 3, 4, and 9. “Swing-A-Nova” delivers a great array of signature VJE grooves, tempos, solos, and performances — both swingers and Latin — by the always jubilant Verve Jazz Ensemble!

Available now on CD Baby, Amazon and iTunes!

Track Listing:

1. ‘Tis Autumn…4:21

2. Tin Tin Deo…5:35

3. From This Moment On…3:47

4. You Stepped Out of a Dream…4:28

5. Speak No Evil…5:01

6. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered…3:27

7. I Cover the Waterfront…5:06

8. This I Dig of You…3:25

9. Tones for Joan’s Bones…5:07

10.Nica’s Dream…4:43

It’s obvious by the 4th bar of the first cut on Perimeter, the Verve Jazz Ensemble’s 2016 release, that these guys can really swing. But as the album clearly demonstrates, the VJE has just as much fun in many other musical spaces too.

With Perimeter, the VJE’s 3rd album, the band continues to advance its rapidly growing US and International following, building on the top-10 JazzWeek performance of its debut release (It’s About Time, 2013) and second album (East End Sojourn, 2014).

Featuring Josh Feldstein (drummer-leader), Jon Blanck (tenor), Tatum Greenblatt (trumpet), Steve Einerson (piano), and Elias Bailey (bass), Perimeter opens with VJE tenor man Jon Blanck’s tidy arrangement of the classic Groovin’ Hard —a huge feature of Buddy Rich’s big band feature back in the day originally written by Don Menza as a piece for quartet. It’s hard to imagine, really…until you hear how adeptly the VJE lays into this piece. From trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt’s smooth opening solo, through Jon Blanck’s driving tenor feature, all the way through Josh Feldstein’s sizzling drum solo, the quintet states its case to recast this tune in a small group setting very convincingly.

Mothlight, a Jon Blanck original, and the CD’s second track, is a funky, fun delight. Propelled by Josh Feldstein’s infectious drum grove, the tune unleashes a bluesy, cascading piano solo by Steve Einerson, a kicking tenor feature by Jon, and a knockout bass solo by Elias Bailey.

2 for Daddy, an original penned by Feldstein, evokes shades of a good spy movie with Josh once again supplying the necessary percussive energy and articulation, while the band elegantly passes the baton from solo to solo, resulting in a high-octane, finger-snapping swinger in just under 4 minutes. Next up, Alone Together, a smooth-as-silk samba rendition of this classic standard, drops the album back a gear or two. It features a great rhythm section groove by Steve, Elias and Josh, beautiful soloing by and communicative interplay between Tatum and Jon on trumpet and tenor, and the overall trademark Latin feel of the VJE at its best.

The album’s namesake, Perimeter, another Jon Blanck original, follows, shifting the album’s musical landscape several orders of magnitude. A broken straight-eighth feel with contrasting dual melodies introduced by tenor and trumpet, the composition moves into and through a delicate palate of orchestral-esque phases, textures and solos before resolving with a restating of the tune’s dual melody. Tatum, Jon, Steve, Elias and Josh each demonstrate an individual feel and group interplay that takes the composition into an emotional space filled with subtlety, understated texture, and intensity.

Evergreen, another original, this one contributed by VJE pianist Steve Einerson, comes next. The tune projects a very well defined hard bop undercurrent. Each horn takes a bite at a chorus over the form, capped off by Steve’s playful but high impact soloing. Josh’s equally high impact drumming is featured prominently on this cooking track, from top to bottom. Next, the VJE rhythm section, performing distinctly as a trio, delivers a real treat in its ballad version of the timeless Bill Evan’s classic, Waltz for Debby. Steve, Elias and Josh lay down a captivating groove, featuring the elegant voicing of Einerson’s piano. On Green Dolphin Street, up next, gives the Verve Jazz Ensemble an opportunity to stretch out and have some fun on an uptempo arrangement of this beloved standard.

The album wraps up with another original composition, this one by VJE trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt entitled Two Cooks on the Delta, reminiscent of the Cannonball and Nat Adderly brothers’ playbook. Tatum can be heard on the count-off, and throughout, driving this bluesy swinger from start to finish, providing a perfect high-energy conclusion to the VJE’s latest offering.

Indeed, Perimeter demonstrates that the Verve Jazz Ensemble can swing, and a whole lot more.

Named one of 2014’s top 50 albums by JazzWeek!

The Verve Jazz Ensemble burst onto the jazz scene in 2013 with their debut release, It’s About Time, soaring up the jazz radio charts to the #5 slot and earning considerable critical kudos along the way.

East End Sojourn, the band’s 2014 follow-up to their debut album, delivered just what VJE fans in the US, Brazil, Japan and Europe were hoping for: another swinging collection of signature sounds that has earned the VJE a rapidly growing following worldwide.

Hitting #8 on the US national jazz radio JazzWeek charts, East End Sojourn is being hailed as a “swinging, bopping masterpiece” by Midwest Record, and “one of the best jazz albums of the year” by Capital Community News.

This time out, the band has broadened its musical roster with special guest guitarist Peter Bernstein, who joins on three tunes, together with the VJE’s Jon Blanck (tenor sax), Tatum Greenblatt (trumpet), Steve Einerson and Matt Ostereicher (sharing piano duties), Elias Bailey (bass), and Josh Feldstein (drummer and VJE leader).

East End Sojourn kicks off with a dynamic arrangement of Horace Silver’s “Sister Sadie,” worked out by Jon Blanck, who contributed arrangements to four of the album’s nine tracks. Blanck’s driving tenor along with some soaring solos by trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt are backed by a sizzling rhythm section propelled by Josh on drums.

The VJE’s arrangement of Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz,” crafted by Tatum Greenblatt, presents a tight 3/4 arrangement that delivers a distinctively syncopated interpretation, performed as a quartet piece and featuring Greenblatt’s muted trumpet leads the way (Steve and Matt Oestreicher share paino duties on the album). Greenblatt’s arrangement of “You and the Night and the Music” is the first of the three songs featuring guitarist Peter Bernstein, who frames the tune by using his rich, undulating phrasing throughout his opening solo. Blanck and Greenblatt work together to build the tune’s up-tempo momentum, capped off by a series of bop-inspired solos by VJE leader Josh Feldstein on drums.

On his second contribution to the album, “My One and Only Love,” Bernstein brings incredible emotion to the track. Opening as a penetrating ballad, the arrangement shifts in and out of a dark yet grooving 6/8 feel. The piece creates space for a wide range of contrasting musical statements by Bernstein on guitar, Blanck on tenor, Greenblatt on trumpet, and Oestreicher on piano, before turning it back to Bernstein for a 6/8-ballad guitar solo.

On the next tune, the VJE goes Latin on Djavan’s “Flor de Lis,” written by Brazilian superstar Djavan. “‘Flor de Lis’ is an amazing song that I want to keep playing!” said Peter. Propelled by a delightful samba groove along with some Stan Getz-esque tenor work by Blanck, the band relished the opportunity to dig into this buoyant offering…which was well received in Brazil by hundreds of thousands of Djavan’s fans!

The mood and pace change again with “East End Avenue,” an original composition by Josh, which was inspired by the drummer’s experiences living on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A “feel good” swinger—with a side order of jazz mambo wrapped in a big band feel—”East End Avenue” gets rolling with high-intensity, back-to-back solos from its arranger Blanck on tenor and Greenblatt on trumpet, followed by a Latin-inspired piano solo from Ostereicher and supported by some crisp drumming by Josh throughout.

A VJE signature is playing what they term a “big band reduction”—taking a classic big band tune and re-arranging it into exciting small group rendition that echoes the feel of the original big band approach. “Corner Pocket,” the Freddie Green classic played famously by Count Basie’s orchestra, is uniquely presented here as a VJE quintet piece arranged by Blanck. “Strollin’ Meets Cute,” an unusual VJE trio arrangement by Feldstein and Oestreicher, is based on a hybrid of two classics: Horace Silver’s “Strollin’” and Neil Hefti’s “Cute.” “I’d been listening to the Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack Dejohnette version of ‘Strollin”, and I loved it,” Feldstein said. “Out came this arrangement, which Matt and I worked up.” “But don’t ask for the chart to this tune,” smiled Ostereicher. “We don’t have one.”

Wrapping up its recording of East End Sojourn, Greenblatt’s “Dilly Dally Doodle” is the trumpeter’s 16-bar blues original.

With their second consecutive Top-10 US Radio album, East End Sojourn demonstrates considerable VJE evolution with their emotionally direct arrangements, all while continuing to honor the swing / bop / post-bop roots that first put them on the radar of jazz fans throughout the world. When All About Jazz said, “From bebop rhythms to sweet melodic ballads and swinging romps forged with exciting solo statements, the Verve Jazz Ensemble delivers quite an attention-grabbing first effort drawing inspiration for an encore performance,” East End Sojourn is exactly what they expected.

Featuring acclaimed NY Trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt, cited by Wynton Marsalis as “one of his favorite young trumpet players,” the Verve Jazz Ensemble, lead by drummer Josh Feldstein, projects a wide array of richly developed voices on this compelling compilation of music. From reinterpreted Bebop standards (Lady Bird, Boplicity, and Jordu), to a dynamic big band reduction (Big Swing Face,, originally made famous by Buddy Rich), to two distinct treatments of well-loved jazz classics (Henry Mancini’s The Days of Wine and Roses, and Oscar Hammerstein’s Softly as in a Morning Sunrise), listeners will immediately hear a deeply integrated group that delivers its music with great style and passion.

Tatum Greenblatt’s beautiful trumpet voice lends a bluesy edge throughout, showcasing his rich jazz roots set on a contemporary platform. Tenor sax man and arranger Jon Blanck brings his soulful, driving, yet sensitive approach on every tune, linking with Tatum’s trumpet to generate a warm blend of dynamic jazz.

The group’s rhythm section is also aptly featured, with a solid yet highly flexible foundation. Note bassist Chris DeAngelis’ undercurrent and footprint everywhere on the album. Pianist Matt Oestreicher’s array of well-crafted, spicy and eclectic fills, accompaniments, and solos bring to mind pianists from McCoy Tyner to Red Garland, and many in between. And driving the band is VJE drummer and leader Josh Feldstein. Josh’s swinging, thoughtful, and elegant percussive pulse sets the stage for a distinctly different, truly enjoyable rhythmic experience from tune to tune.

As the listener will very likely agree, it’s indeed about time the Verve Jazz Ensemble has released their debut album, It’s About Time (2013).