Scoopin’ The Loop – The Dana Legg Stage Band

Dana Legg – trombone / leader:   These songs are classics, and the arrangements are incredibly fun to play and hear. Kris Berg, Mark Taylor, Alan Baylock, Mike Tomaro, Vince Norman, Jack Cooper, Terry Griffey, Paul Murtha and the great Sammy Nestico all blessed Dana Legg with these fantastic charts of familiar classics played with passion in a dynamic big band setting. This is a ‘tasty treat’ that is universal in appeal!

Saxes: Jeff Ford – Alto, John Springbrunn – Alto, Jim Johnson – Tenor, Mike Knauf – Tenor, Mike Bazan – Tenor, Barry Winograd – Baritone

Trumpets: Michael Stewart, Randy Karon, Terry Guynes, Ivo Braun, Kenny Dixon

Trombones: Russ Phillips, Tim Coffman, Dana Solt, Brad Payne

Piano: Colin Drozdoff

Guitar: Chris Siebold

Bass: Mark Sorlie

Drums: Frank Alongi

Percussion: Debbie Katz-Knowles

Congas: Ramon DeLeggo

 Vocalist: Jen Zias

REVIEW:

The songs are classic.  The arrangements, outstanding!  For some years, Dana Legg has been harboring this dream of producing an album full of treasured songs that he loves.  The trombonist promised himself he would pursue a project to record these hit songs. He has finally done it! They open with, “Yo, Dude, Ya Got the Time? (Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is?)

Dana Legg and his Stage Band have reinvigorated songs like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” the Bill Wither’s hit, “Ain’t No Sunshine” features Dana Legg on trombone, and Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” composition is refreshed with big band arrangements.  Jim Johnson is featured on tenor saxophone delivering the beautiful melody.

Growing up in Marshalltown, Iowa, Legg recalls riding down Main Street with his car radio blasting out some of these same tunes.  It was a fun time in his teenaged years.  A time of discovery and young love, afterschool dances, and drive-in movies. Legg captures that time and energy with his Stage Band arrangements. Tunes like “New York State of Mind” are bookmarkers in his memory bank.

The blues tune by Gordon Sumner, “Heavy Cloud, No Rain” features the vocals of Jen Zias and a trombone solo by Russ Phillips shuffles on the scene, spurred by the drums of Frank Alongi.

Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett wrote “Superstar” and Luther Vandross made it a hit record with his smooth vocals.  Now the Dana Legg Stage Band swings the tune, giving Mike Knauf the spotlight on tenor sax and also featuring Randy Karon on trumpet.

This is a big band album with universal appeal. Their rendition of “A Hard Day’s Night” sounds like it was meant to be a big band production. All songs feature a variety of fine arrangers who happily lent their charts to these talented musicians.  The music reflects a Baker’s Dozen of songs that have become a staple in America’s Pop music diet. The Dana Legg Stage Band celebrates familiar compositions with jazzy arrangements and big band bluster…

-Dee Dee McNeil for Making a Scene

REVIEW:

Leader and trombonist Dana Legg puts a swinging fresh coat of paint on old Baby Boomer classics with his big band on this release, and it’s a great match. Any fan of the band Chicago will recognize the opening horns segment on the album, as Lamm’s “Yo, Dude, Ya Got The Time” is a juiced up read of Chicago’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” along with a hip solo by the leader and one by beefy tenor saxist Jim Johnson. The team boogaloos around Chris Siebold’s guitar on a wild read of “Welcome to the Jungle”  and the horns punch like heavyweights for a few rounds as  Barry Winograd’s bari sax is a gas gas gas on  “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”. Trumpeter Ivo Braun works like a dog on  “A Hard Day’s Night” and Tim Coffman’s trombone manages to make ends meet on “Lady Madonna”. The seventies are swinging!

-Jazz Weekly

REVIEW:

Chicago has always had outstanding big bands as part of its musical scene.  Among those currently active is The Dana Legg Stage Band.  Leader/trombonist Legg had the idea to ask some of the top arrangers around the country to write jazz charts of songs from the realm of pop/rock for his 19-piece big band.  The result is an exciting 13-song collection, Scoopin’ the Loop (Summit – 846) that gives an impressive alternate life to these songs.  The songs are “Yo, Dude, Y Got the Time,” “New York State of Mind,” “Heavy Cloud, No Rain,” “Overjoyed,” “Superstar,” “Lady Madonna,” ”Wrapped Around Your Finger,” “More Today Than Yesterday,” “After All,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”  While you might not be familiar with all of the songs, the magic on this album is that the arrangers made no attempt to incorporate the original contexts of the songs, rather just used the melodies as jumping off points to create swinging big band arrangements.  For those who are, like this writer, oriented toward jazz as our predominant musical interest, you will find that this collection is just right for your ears.

-Joseph Lang for Jersey Jazz