Big band music reclaiming unity and hope through community amidst turbulence, distance, and uncertainty.

The pandemic radically changed music making. Musicians are, to some extent, social creatures, and their need to connect with comrades transferred online. Chris headed into 2021 thinking and feeling that the worst was not yet over, and he yearned to keep the creativity and the camaraderie flowing.

Was it possible to realize an artistic endeavor without even setting foot into the same space? Could we use technology to keep us connected rather than isolated and divided? With
original compositions from Chris Trinidad’s Certain Times (Iridium Records, 2014), Chris went about reconnecting with colleagues across several countries and continents and proposed the idea of a virtual big band with arrangers and players united through technology. The album was recorded in isolation through file sharing across multiple time zones brought together by the desire to make music.

PERSONNEL: Chris Trinidad: bass guitar, Reggie Padilla: saxophones, Jamie Dubberly: trombones, Miguelito Valdes: trumpets and flugelhorns, Evan Francis: flute, Alex Hand: guitars, Christian Tumalan: piano, David Rokeach: drum set, Jose Sanchez: percussion

GENRES: Big Band, Jazz Orchestra, Contemporary Jazz

INFLUENCES: Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation (VEJI), Electric Squeezebox Orchestra (ESO), Kenny Wheeler, Gil Evans, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Maria Schneider

RELEASE YEAR: 2021

ALBUM CODE: IRK 2021 01