A “Who's Who” of Modern Jazz

The orchestra features legends from the Vanguard and Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestras, as well as Darcy James Argue's Secret Society:

• Rufus Reid (Bassist): Internationally acclaimed bassist and composer; Congressional Achievement Award recipient. One of the most recorded bassists in jazz history. "Need I say more?"
• Tim Hagans (Trumpet): Multi-Grammy nominee and international trumpet icon; former Artistic Director of the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and the Norrbotten Big Band; long-standing celebrated soloist with the Danish Radio Big Band.
• Rich Perry (Tenor Saxophone & Flute): 30-plus-year veteran with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra.
• Tony Kadleck (Trumpet): Multi-Grammy-winning first-call lead trumpet for Tony Bennett, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra.
• Alan Ferber (Trombone): Three-time Grammy nominee; named #1 "Rising Star Trombonist" in the 2022 DownBeat International Critics Poll.
• John Riley (Drums): Four-time Grammy winner and 14-time nominee; 34-year veteran of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
• Quinsin Nachoff (Tenor Saxophone & Woodwinds): Juno Award-winning collaborator; honors include DownBeat Magazine’s “Best Albums of the Year” for Path of Totality.
• John Fedchock  (Trombone): Multi-Grammy nominee; consistently ranked as a top "Trombonist," "Arranger," and "Big Band" leader in the DownBeat International Critics Poll for over three decades.
• Jennifer Wharton (Bass Trombone): Leader of the ensemble Bonegasm; performed on two Grammy-winning albums and eleven Grammy-nominated "Best Large Jazz Ensemble" recordings, including four with Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society.
• Ed Neumeister (Trombone): Multi-Grammy nominee; featured on Grammy-nominated recordings with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
• Sebastian Noelle (Guitar): Featured on four Grammy-nominated albums by Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society; collaborator on the HBO series The Sopranos soundtrack.
• David Smith (Trumpet): Grammy-winning performer with the Dan Pugach Big Band and Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra; featured on four Grammy-nominated albums with Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and one with the Alan Ferber Big Band.
• Patrick Cornelius (Saxophones & Woodwinds): Grammy-winning performer with the Dan Pugach Big Band; four-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award.
• Ben Kono (Saxophones & Woodwinds): Grammy-winning performer with the Dan Pugach Big Band; featured on Grammy-nominated recordings with the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society.
• Carl Maraghi (Baritone Saxophone & Woodwinds): Three-time Grammy winner with the Christopher Zuar Orchestra, the Christian McBride Big Band, and Jersey Boys; featured on five Grammy-nominated recordings with Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society.
• Allen Farnham (Piano): Grammy-winning producer for Tito Puente; recipient of National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Meet The Composer grants; internationally commissioned by the RIAS Big Band (Berlin) and CUG Orchestra (Nagoya).
• Jim O’Connor (Trumpet): Performer with the Grammy Award-winning band They Might Be Giants; Leader of The Velcro Horns featuring appearances on The Late Show and The Tonight Show; 30-year veteran of the New York City studio scene.

Collectively, the members of this ensemble have received 19 Grammy Awards and over 75 Grammy Nominations.

The Gold Standard of Audio Engineering

The production and audio engineering team for this project has contributed to over 15 Grammy Award-winning albums and more than 40 nominations, representing the highest standard of technical excellence in the modern recording industry:

• Sear Sound (Recording Studio): A legendary fixture of the New York recording landscape for over 50 years and the designated studio for recording Together Again for the First Time; renowned for its peerless vintage vacuum-tube technology and as the historic site for the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra’s Consummation, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra’s Grammy-nominated Over Time: The Music of Bob Brookmeyer, and landmark sessions by Carla Bley and Wayne Shorter.
• Dan Jamieson (Producer): Internationally recognized composer and guest conductor for the Danish Radio Big Band and the Metropole Orkest; career highlights include collaborations with Joe Lovano, Marcus Miller, and Ingrid Jensen; producer of the 2025 Celebrating Jim McNeely concert.
• Mike Malone (Associate Producer): Juno Award-winning trumpeter and composer; recipient of the SOCAN Phil Nimmons Award for Jazz Composition; career-long collaborator and educator in the Canadian jazz scene.
• Brian Montgomery (Editing & Mixing Engineer): Three-time Grammy winner and Chief Engineer at Berklee NYC (formerly Power Station/Avatar); selected engineering projects include Paul McCartney, Esperanza Spalding, and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra.
• Randy Merrill (Senior Mastering Engineer): Seven-time Grammy winner and 29-time nominee; Mastering Engineer at Sterling Sound for Taylor Swift, Adele, Lady Gaga, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, and the Alan Ferber Big Band.
   

This project is funded in part by the Pathways to Jazz Grant, a donor advised fund of the Boulder County Arts Alliance. Furthermore, the scores and production documentation from this recording will be permanently preserved in the Chuck Iwanusa Archive of the Schumacher Contemporary American Music Collection at my alma mater, The Ohio State University.