The Summit Jazz Orchestra

The Summit Jazz Orchestra & Clark Terry: Clark

by Jack Bowers
February 13, 2004

In April 2000 the not yet five year old Summit Jazz Orchestra, which makes its home in Regensburg, Germany, welcomed 79 year-old jazz legend Clark Terry for a twelve-day tour and recording session that music director/bass trombonist Christian Sommerer describes as “a lifetime experience for every single musician” in the SJO, whose members come from all over the country and whose ages range from 21 to 30.

If the tour was anything like the album, audiences must have been blown ...

The Summit Jazz Orchestra: Moods of a Cat

by Jack Bowers
July 1, 2000

After listening to more than a thousand big bands from all parts of the world over the past decade or so, one can generally ascertain after the first few measures have been played where a particular ensemble belongs in the hierarchy. The Summit Jazz Orchestra, a relatively young band from Regensburg, Germany, belongs precisely where its name indicates it should — at the summit. Don’t ask me how, but director and bass trombonist Christian Sommerer has managed in three short ...