Jim Gailloreto: Metropolitan Jazz Octet

Jim Gailloreto with Metropolitan Jazz Octet
Chicago, IL
$15,000

About the Artist

Metropolitan Jazz Octet (MJO) is the contemporary reawakening of a jazz group that originated in the 1950s and has a rich history and legacy in traditional and modern jazz. MJO's arrangements and performances blend a big band sound with the elegance of a small ensemble, creating a 'chamber jazz' experience that offers something new for the modern jazz audience. MJO performed at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival (2021) and were voted Best Jazz Album by the Chicago Tribune (2019). They've played to sold-out audiences at the Chicago Jazz Festival, The Green Mill, Studio 5, Hey Nonny, the Jazz Showcase and received critical acclaim from Jazz Times, Downbeat, and Chicago Jazz Magazine. They are thrilled to collaborate with Chicago's treasured jazz vocalist, Paul Marinaro, in the Origin Records release "The Bowie Project," a compilation of David Bowie's song legacies reimagined for voice and jazz octet. MJO's approach honors Bowie's lyrics, melodic and harmonic complexity while also allowing a variety of improvisational and jazz styles to shine through. Using David Bowie's anthology with Marinaro's vocal interpretations and melodic style, MJO has created a timely and novel-sounding jazz album. People adore Bowie's music, and this project resonates with a wide jazz audience. "The Bowie Project" has created deep, meaningful interest, and the timing of this release is right to plan multiple appearances.