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The Ed Palermo Big Band

Under the leadership of arranger/ composer/ bandleader/ saxophonist Ed Palermo, the Ed Palermo Big Band has been together since 1980, performing live around New York (NYC’s Iridium, Marlboro’s The Falcon) and at US and international jazz (and Zappa!) festivals, and recording albums to the delight of fans and critics worldwide. Composed of top-notch jazz musicians, the tightly-honed big band performs Palermo’s extraordinary arrangements, which combine music from the worlds of rock, pop and blues (Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, Paul Butterfield, The Beatles) alongside jazz (Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Mile Davis) and Palermo originals. Their New York shows are typically sold-out events: irresistibly entertaining evenings featuring remarkable music topped with good humor. Just as Duke Ellington and Count Basie's orchestras spoke to their 20th century audiences, the Ed Palermo Big Band keeps the tradition of big band jazz alive in the 21st century, embracing the world of popular music of which it's a part.

The Ed Palermo Big Band has released nearly ten recordings on Cuneiform Records, Sky Cat and other labels. These albums have received rave reviews from a wide array of jazz and music magazines including DownBeat, Jazz Times and Jazziz, all of whom have featured Palermo and his band. Online magazine The Daily Beast recently listed Palermo as one of the top 40 “intriguing musicians to watch out for.” The Ed Palermo Big Band’s newest album A Lousy Day in Harlem is a landmark work, establishing Palermo's place within jazz tradition and within swinging, entertaining, big band jazz. Giving it 4 stars, Audiophile Audition called it “one of the best large ensemble jazz projects issued this year”, while Jazz Times noted “Twenty- first century big-band music doesn’t get more exciting and impressive than this." Overseas audiences also embraced it, with Jazz in Europe noting: “‘A Lousy Day in Harlem’ is a quality addition to the big band repertoire and is a great example of keeping the big band alive in the 21st century. The fresh balance of combining traditional styles of jazz with contemporary injections makes this album a must-listen for any big band enthusiast." A key musical element of the Ed Palermo Big Band is surprise. This is true for recordings and live shows alike. Recordings contain unexpected arrangements. The live audience never knows what to expect except pure unfiltered insanity and brilliance. Palermo’s uncanny penchant to “mash up” music of disparate sources is evident in such musically thematic Big Band shows as Zodd Zundgren-The Music of Frank Zappa and Todd Rundgren (which, in one performance, was embedded into a “Wizard of Oz” storyline to become “The Wizard of Zodd”. THE CATS & KITTENS OF THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND: REEDS:

The Ed Palermo Big Band: One Child Left Behind

Read "One Child Left Behind" reviewed by Mario Calvitti

by Mario Calvitti
January 17, 2017

Quando il chitarrista/sassofonista, compositore e big band leader Ed Palermo decise di dedicare un intero concerto come tributo a uno dei musicisti che più avevano influenzato la sua formazione musicale da poco scomparso, non immaginava certo quanto la sua vita professionale sarebbe cambiata in poco tempo. La sua big band era in attività dal 1977, con un paio di album di composizioni originali pubblicati, ma ai suoi concerti non aveva mai avuto un'affluenza di pubblico come la sera dello show ...

Recording

The Ed Palermo Big Band Releases A Blues-Rich Tribute To The Music Of Edgar Winter

Source: The Music Outpost Publicity
February 22, 2022

The Ed Palermo Big Band Delivers an Entrancing Tribute to Legendary Texas Blues/Jazz Multi-Instrumentalist Edgar Winter with I’ve Got News For You: The Music of Edgar Winter. An Instrumental and Vocal Tour de Force, the Sky Cat Records Release Features Palermo’s Swaggering 17-Piece Jazz Orchestra Joyfully Conjuring a Soul-filled, Blues-Drenched Sound. For acclaimed jazz big band leader, arranger, composer and saxophonist Ed Palermo, Edgar Winter wasn’t just a gateway drug to jazz. To a youth raised on New Jersey's shore, ...
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Recording

The Ed Palermo Big Band  Flaunts the Union Jack with The Great Un-American Songbook Vol. 3: Run for Your Life

Source: The Music Outpost Publicity
October 28, 2020

While pundits and experts debate whether the United States of America has entered an age of decline as a world power, New York saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader and inveterate troublemaker Ed Palermo makes an incontrovertible case for un-American ascendance. With The Great Un-American Songbook Volume 3: Run for your Life, slated for release on guitarist/vocalist Bruce McDaniel’s Sky Cat label on November 6, 2020, he turns his attention to the music of the nation’s former colonial overlords. Focusing on material ...
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Recording

A Lousy Day in Harlem is a great day for jazz with The Ed Palermo Big Band! Available now!

Source: All About Jazz
September 30, 2019

A Lousy Day in Harlem is a great day for jazz with The Ed Palermo Big Band, as the band known for reinventing the music of Frank Zappa turns its attention to a riveting program of Monk, Coltrane, Ellington, and hard-swinging originals, confirming Ed Palermo’s place in jazz’s top ranks of contemporary big band arrangers. In a radical departure, jazz’s state-of-the-art orchestra—The Ed Palermo Big Band—has recorded a thrilling program of…jazz! An ingenious arranger, composer and alto saxophonist, Ed Palermo has spent much of ...
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Recording

The Ed Palermo Big Band brings together two fave 1960s American Pop/Rock Superheroes for "The Adventures of Zodd Zundgren"

Source: All About Jazz
October 13, 2017

Ed Palermo may have gained an international following with his ingenious orchestral arrangements of Frank Zappa tunes, but he’s hardly a one-trick pony. Earlier in the year, the saxophonist released an uproarious double album The Great Un-American Songbook Volumes 1 & 2, a project celebrating an expansive roster of songs by successive waves of British invaders, from the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Jeff Beck to King Crimson, Traffic, and Jethro Tull. With his new big band project, slated for release ...
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Recording

The Ed Palermo Big Band Releases The Great Un-American Songbook Volumes 1 & 2

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James
March 6, 2017

The Ed Palermo Big Band is Making America Un-Great Again with a Brilliant Blast of Anglophilia, transforming British Rock Treasures into Wildly Inventive Jazz Vehicles on the Double Album: The Great Un-American Songbook Volumes 1 & 2 (Cuneiform Records). From the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Jeff Beck to King Crimson, Traffic, and Jethro Tull, Palermo’s 18- piece ensemble Storms the British Invasion and Plants the American Flag (upside down). Crazy times call for outrageous music, and few jazz ensembles are ...
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Recording

The Ed Palermo Big Band Pays Tribute to Music Legend Frank Zappa

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James
June 24, 2009

New York, NY -- Jazz is not dead - at least not when the Ed Palermo Big Band plays it. Part of the Cuneiform 'Contemporary Masters' series, Eddy Loves Frank is the third album to feature the music of Frank Zappa as arranged by Ed Palermo and performed by the Ed Palermo Big Band. A brilliantly original and entertaining big band jazz CD, 'Eddy Loves Frank' shows that Zappas music has become assimilated into the American songbook. It also reveals ...
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Performance / Tour

Les Paul (Mon) Mingus Legacy (Tues) Ed Palermo Big Band (Wed) Freddie Hubbard and the New Jazz Composers Octet (Thu-Sun) at the Iridium Jazz Club

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
December 10, 2007

IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB 1650 BROADWAY (Corner of 51st) NEW YORK, NY 10023 RESERVATIONS: 212-582-2121 Sets At 8:30 & 10:30PM Les Paul Sets Remain at 8:00 & 10:00PM Effective immediately, minimums are $10/person/set for all shows except Les Paul - $15 mins.

EVERY MONDAY LES PAUL AND HIS TRIO JOHN COLIANNI - PIANO - LOU PALLO - GUITAR, NICKI PARROTT - BASS

EVERY TUESDAY MINGUS ...
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Performance / Tour

Les Paul (Tonight), Mingus Big Band (Tue.) Ed Palermo Big Band (Wed.) Alex Bugnon (Nov. 3-6) at The Iridium Jazz Club

Source: All About Jazz
October 31, 2005

IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB 1650 BROADWAY (Corner of 51st) NEW YORK, NY 10023 RESERVATIONS: 212-582-2121, www.iridiumjazzclub.com Sets at 8 & 10PM EVERY MONDAY LES PAUL AND HIS QUARTET EVERY TUESDAY THE MINGUS BIG BAND ED PALERMO BIG BAND PLAYS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ZAPPA November 2 and November 9 Every Sunday Starting at 11:00AM Gospel Brunch featuring BISHOP NATHANIEL TOWNSLEY, JR. AND THE GOSPEL JUBILEE This Week at The Iridium Nov. 2 ED PALERMO BIG BAND PLAYS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ...
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Performance / Tour

Ed Palermo Big Band Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa Last Three Appearances This Year at the Iridium Jazz Club

Source: All About Jazz
September 26, 2005

September 26, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: Iridium Jazz Club PRESS Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB 1650 BROADWAY (Corner of 51st) NEW YORK, NY 10023 RESERVATIONS: 212-582-2121, www.iridiumjazzclub.com SHOW TIMES NIGHTLY AT 8:00, 10: 00 Ed Palermo Big Band Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa Last Three Appearances This Year Wednesdays September 28, November 2 and November 9 SAXES: CLIFF LYONS PHIL CHESTER BILL STRAUB/DAVE RIEKENBERG BEN KONO BARBARA CIFELI BONES: CHARLEY GORDON JOE FIEDLER MATT INGMAN TRUMPETS: RONNIE ...
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Performance / Tour

Ed Palermo Big Band Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa at the Iridium Jazz Club Every Wednesday

Source: All About Jazz
July 27, 2005

July 27, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: Iridium Jazz Club PRESS Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] Last Appearance Wed. August 17 IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB 1650 BROADWAY (Corner of 51st) NEW YORK, NY 10023 RESERVATIONS: 212-582-2121, www.iridiumjazzclub.com SHOW TIMES NIGHTLY AT 8:00, 10: 00 Every Wednesday THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND PLAYS THE MUSIC OF FRANK ZAPPA SAXES: CLIFF LYONS PHIL CHESTER BILL STRAUB/DAVE RIEKENBERG BEN KONO BARBARA CIFELI BONES: CHARLEY GORDON JOE FIEDLER MATT INGMAN TRUMPETS: RONNIE BUTTACAVOLI JOHN HINES/JOHN TROMBETTA DRUMS: ...
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"Twenty-first century big-band music doesn’t get more exciting and impressive than this." – Jeff Tamarkin, Jazz Times "...one of the greatest musicians and arrangers in the world." —Christian McBride "Ed Palermo is real good for jazz. ...this saxophonist, composer and arranger moves his big band t consider any source an engaging good time." – Gary Walker, "Morning Jazz," WBGO ...Palermo has a self-effacing, unconventional sense of wit, which never gets in the way of Palermo’s task, which is to array his big band within jazz’s history, tradition and fidelity