Fresh, wide-ranging big band jazz

10 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Modern Big Band, JAZZ: Soul-Jazz



Details:
In December of 2004, Ann Arbor Community High students Connor Otto (manager) and Glenn Tucker (bandleader) formed the Cool Moose Orchestra (CMO). The CMO is entirely student-run and draws on talented high school musicians from Ann Arbor and Dexter, Michigan. The orchestra plays a wide range of music, including Dixieland, traditional big band, modern jazz, funk, and Latin music. Tucker has arranged and transcribed over seventy charts for the band. Originally a rehearsal band, the CMO started performing in the spring of 2005 at Foggy Bottom Coffee House in Dexter.

Beginning in October of 2005, the CMO has performed monthly at Murphy's Place in Toledo. In May of 2006, the CMO played at Breakin' Curfew, a teen talent showcase at the Power Center in Ann Arbor, put on by the University Musical Society and the Neutral Zone, a local teen center. In August of 2006, the CMO made its debut at the Firefly Club in Ann Arbor, and started appearing monthly starting in December of 2006. The Cool Moose Orchestra has appeared at Chrysler Arts, Beats, and Eats in Pontiac, The Brighton Barbecue Blues and Smokinâ Jazz Festival, The University of Michigan Jazz Festival, and Detroit Winterblast.