What's so good about Darcy James Argue?

Okay - full disclosure. I run a big band, which means I'm predisposed to liking big bands. And I've played one of Darcy's charts, which means I'm predisposed to liking his music. And I've seen the Secret Society several times, which means I'm predisposed to liking the band.

But none of that should matter because regardless of predispositions or biases, it's all fantastic stuff.

As can sometimes be the case, separating out the band leader from the band is tricky. The Secret Society is Darcy's instrument; big band is his main performance outlet. But he has made a name for himself as an outstanding composer for ensembles of all sizes: in addition to performances and commissions with big bands in North America, Europe and Australia, he has composed for chamber duo and string quartet, art songs, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He's earned awards, grants and fellowships from New Music USA, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, the BMI Jazz Composers’ Workshop (Charlie Parker Composition Prize) and SOCAN (Hagood Hardy Award).

What makes Darcy unique as a composer to me especially (and what, I would guess, keeps him in demand) is his use of elements from both the jazz and contemporary classical music traditions in his compositions. Using traditional big band instrumentation (more or less), he's able to pull new sounds out of the band though the use of minimalism, tone clusters, extended techniques and more…all while ensuring the music is driving and, where appropriate, as swinging as any other great big band. Check out this track (which is a personal favourite): chorale, uptempo swing featuring a repeated bass line, extended trumpet solo (here played by Dave Smith, a musician I admired when he lived in Toronto 20 or so years ago)...there's lots to hear!

Of course a composer and conductor is nothing without the musicians who help to bring his or her ideas to life, and Darcy has assembled an outstanding cast. They are some of the top musicians on the New York jazz scene, most of whom have earned high acclaim in their careers as leaders and side musicians with other projects. The music may hold all of the instructions - what buttons to push, how loud to play notes, that sort of thing - it's up to the musicians to bring the music off the page, to find the nuance in the writing, to make the music vibrant. These musicians take Darcy and his music very seriously and this commitment is reflected in their consistently high caliber playing. Here's another example.

For their Toronto performance, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society will be performing Brooklyn Babylon in its entirety. According to the band's bio, "Brooklyn Babylon tells the tale of Lev Bezdomni, a carpenter in a future Brooklyn, who is tasked with building the carousel that will crown the tallest tower in the world." The full production of the work involves live painting and projection; the Toronto show will just be the music. However, this is not a compromise - Brooklyn Babylon is some of the best, most exciting big band writing I've heard. (And don't just take my word for it - the album earned JUNO and Grammy Award nominations.) It draws from musical styles and influences too numerous to list; it is incredibly evocative - we hear the sounds of the futuristic Brooklyn, the trials and tribulations of its citizens; and it is brilliantly scored, with the usual instrumentation enhanced by contrabass clarinet, acoustic steel-string guitar, tuba, euphonium and more. Here's a taste - check out where this goes musically!

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society performs Brooklyn Babylon on Sunday, June 22, 8 pm at The Music Gallery. Buy tickets now or, more information, visit their concert page.

Josh