WINDS
Dave Pietro
Alejandro Aviles
Charles Pillow
Chet Doxas (Jun 19)/ John Lowery (Jun 20)
Carl Maraghi
TRUMPETS
Seneca Black
Ravi Best
Matt Holman
Summer Camargo
Nathan Eklund
TROMBONES
Nick Vayenas (Jun 19)/ Mike Fahie (Jun 20)
Ryan Keberle
Evan Amoroso
Jennifer Wharton
RHYTHM SECTION
Sebastian Noelle -guitar
Adam Birnbaum (Jun 19)/ Carmen Staaf (Jun 20) -piano
Jorge Roeder -bass
Jon Wikan -drums
Composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue — winner of the 2024 Jazz Journalists Association Award for Arranger of the Year — and his Secret Society return to The Jazz Gallery for two consecutive nights: June 19 & 20, 2024.
Their GRAMMY-nominated album Dynamic Maximum Tension pays homage to some of Argue’s key influences with original songs dedicated to R. Buckminster Fuller, Alan Turing, and a response to Duke Ellington’s “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue,” titled “Tensile Curves,” among other original works. The album track “Dymaxion”—a portmanteau of “dynamic maximum tension”—takes its name from the term coined by architect and inventor Fuller to describe his concept of using technology and resources to maximum advantage.
Argue says of his inspiration for the music: “It feels like our culture today is headed in a profoundly dystopian direction. By engaging with figures like Buckminster Fuller, Alan Turing, and Mae West, I was trying to connect to a more optimistic time, trying to reclaim a sense of agency, trying to rekindle my faith in our ability to grab the future and shape it ourselves.”
Darcy James Argue, “one of the top big band composers of our time” (Stereophile) brings an outwardly anachronistic ensemble into the 21st century through his “ability to combine his love of jazz’s past with more contemporary sonics” and is celebrated as “a syncretic creator who avoids obvious imitation” (Pitchfork).
SPONSORSHIP
The Jazz Gallery is a not-for-profit arts organization presenting emerging artists who challenge convention, take creative risks, and lead their field as performers, composers and thinkers. We provide a platform for artists to discover their unique voice and a home for established musicians to continue to experiment and grow. At The Jazz Gallery, artists and audiences come together from around the world to explore new creative ideas, collaborate and celebrate jazz as a dynamic art form that reflects our ever-changing world.
We rely on the generosity of our members and community to keep the music playing, thank you for your continued and much appreciated support! If you would like to sponsor a Livestream Concert, please use the links above or be in touch with our Executive Director, Janet Luhrs, here.