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Well-grounded experimenters
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This review first appeared in the November 27, 1992 issue of the North County Blade-Citizen (now North County Times).
Being both a throwback to Ellingtonian big band music and one of the most avant-garde jazz outfits around, the Either/Orchestra is as aptly named a band as you'll find.
This outing finds them covering Horace Silver ("Ecaroh"), Benny Golson ("Whisper Not") and Julius Hemphill ("The Hard Blues"), and paying tribute with original tunes dedicated to Miles Davis and Bennie Moten.
But they also do several on-the-edge originals that push big band ensemble playing into new areas, with heavy dissonance and off-measure meters. But Either/Orchestra is well worth experiencing as one of the most adventurous big bands, yet still one of the most well-grounded in the basics.