Jazzmetalpop with Samuel Day and the Dayton Jazz Ensemble

Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you know about a really unique concert I am a part of next week.
Well, first of all, I guess I should let you know that I am playing a cool solo set at next week's outdoor Thursday Night Live at the ArtStreet Ampitheater at UD.  April 25th, 8pm, free ;)

But anyway, as indicated by the title of the blog, I have written four arrangements for the Dayton Jazz Ensemble of my own original material.  It's really interesting, because two of the songs are more pop/ballad, but the other two are pretty heavy!  Writing these arrangements for a jazz big band was a lot of work, but I'm really happy with how they came out.  We'll be playing The Roses, The Eyes, Days Like These, and Igniter.  For the ballads, I had to write new material into the songs to open them up for the many voices in the jazz band, and I there's even an open solo section.  For the heavier songs, it was part composition, and part transcription.  Igniter is one of those songs that I am REALLY excited about, but not a lot of people have heard it, because it hasn't yet really been released in recorded form yet and has only been performed once live.  It's heavy, and laced with orchestral and synth parts, which had to be written over for live horns.  And that's where the fun starts. 

We'll be fusing my band with UD's top big band to bring this really cool hybrid experience right in the middle of the Jazz Band's concert at UD's Boll Theater, next Friday, April the 26th at 7pm.  The concert is free, so come check this out!

By the way, I'm opening the comments on this one, so feel free to ask me about this experience!