The Big and Phat Jazz Orchestra was assembled almost nine years ago to provide a forum dedicated to performing original compositions and arrangements for this powerful musical aggregate...the jazz orchestra. The ensemble performs a wide variety of compositions, many by some of Boston’s best-known writers including: Ted Pease, Dick Lowell, Bob Freedman, Jeff Friedman and Phil Wilson.

The Big and Phat Jazz Orchestra has performed at various venues throughout the Boston/New England area. The band has been privileged to serve in extended residencies at the Tam, a former mainstay in the Boston club scene, and a monthly spot at the Original House of Blues in Cambridge. The band has been featured at: The Boston Globe Jazz Festival, Ryles Jazz Club, The Regattabar, Willow Jazz Club, Emmanuel Church, The Metro South Jazz Festival, the Sea Note in Hull, the Oceanside Big Band and Jazz festival, Ron Della Chiesa’s The Jazz Songbook on WGBH radio, the Berklee Performance Center, Scullers Jazz Club, the Equinox Music festival, Harvard University, and M.I.T.

The Big and Phat Jazz Orchestra has also been an ongoing contributor to the Jazz in the Sanctuary Concert Series held in Brookline. The orchestra has performed several theme/tribute concerts featuring original music by Duke Ellington, Nat Pierce, Carla Bley, John LaPorta, Jimmy Giuffre, Richard Lowell, Thad Jones and Ted Pease.

The unique style of the band is a direct reflection on the experiences of its sixteen members. The members of the ensemble are some of Boston’s finest performers who individually have been featured with the Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, and Woody Herman Big Bands; the Boston Pops; the Rhode Island Philharmonic; the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra; and DIVA.

This orchestra has been seen on a filmed segment of the show "The Next Move" on the Annenberg/CPB Channel, which is collaboration between Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. The Big and Phat Jazz Orchestra recently spent two nights recording its first CD live at Scullers Jazz Club. This new recording will be released in 2002.

For additional information on the Big and Phat Jazz Orchestra please contact Daniel Ian Smith at (617) 364-2243 (phone) and (617) 364-9346 (fax). Also, visit our web-site for a list of upcoming gigs – www.bigandphatjazz.com.