New Release: Unexpected Guests from Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine

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Unexpected Guests from Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine 
Label:  Self-Released
Release Date:  August 15, 2025
Website:  https://www.bigbandjazzmachine.net

Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine teams up with composer/arranger Dan Radlauer for their concept album Unexpected Guests, which includes performances by vocalist Vince Gill and Daniel Ho on ukulele, among many others across the music spectrum.  Based in Southern California, the Big Band Jazz Machine is a 17-piece jazz orchestra that Liss formed in 1979.  He is the band’s producer, conductor and artistic director, and co-produces the recording with Radlauer.  Opening with Radlauer's composition, “Renaissance Woman,” the piece features Tali Rubinstein, who overdubs four different recorders in the soli section.  The music lobes big band volleys proudly.  "I'm Counting on You," an original work by country music star Vince Gill and sung by him on the recording, demonstrates his vocal dexterity to move enthusiastically through the big band course.   Proving the merger of country with jazz is a complementing mixture.

The reggae intonations funneled through "Extraordinary Woman" is an original work by Rocky Dawuni and sung by him, combining calypso sways with big band horns.  Switching gears with the bluegrass-swing jazz number "Violinspirationm," a playful romp written and performed by jazz violinist Nora Germain, the band shines with Golden Age of Jazz style horns and jovial trimmings.  Paul Hanson, a classical bassoonist and jazz saxophonist, contributes "Reeds Between the Lines," another upbeat tempo that whips up an upward trajectory.  Hawaii's own Daniel Ho contributes "Pineapple Mango," delivering a dollop of graceful riffs on his ukulele wrapping around the rippling horns, closing the track with a choir of six Hawaiian vocalists.   Acclaimed cellist Tina Guo appears on Radlauer's composition "Strings in the Wind," supplying her nimble maneuvers to the track and giving the work an electrifying quality.  Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine honors big band customs while celebrating its flexibility to be paired with musical styles outside its scope for a wondrous melting pot.

Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/IraBLissBigBandJazzMachine
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZDRtZLUN3zgsCjxctEWmzw

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