"Weeknight Music is brilliant, balancing a healthy look forward with clear reminiscence on where Jazz came from; all from a young man who sports what may be one of the brightest young talents in Jazz."Elliot Deutsch Big Band and its debut album, Weeknight Music, have garnered some very positive press.
Southwest Riverside News Network
Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel delivers signature sound on Temecula stage
Love was “swinging” in the air Thursday night at Old Town Temecula Community Theater. And there was a whole lot to love for fans of Janis Siegel of the famed vocal jazz group Manhattan Transfer.
Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel performed Thursday night at Old Town Temecula Community Theater. (Kerri S. Mabee/SWRNN)
Siegel’s solo performance, which was backed by the Los Angeles-based 16-piece Elliot Deutsch Big Band, proved to be everything one would expect of a nine-time Grammy-winning artist.
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Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene
The brightest new jazz orchestra in Southern California, the Elliot Deutsch Big Band, makes its recording debut on Weeknight Music. Led by 26-year old arranger-trumpeter Deutsch, the 17-piece orchestra was formed in 2007 while he was still in college. The musicians are young and enthusiastic and their repertoire includes a few standards but is mostly comprised of newer material.
Elliot Deutsch is a top-notch arranger. Sometimes his charts sound a little like Bill Holman's (which is a compliment) and in other cases he keeps the writing a bit more basic and lets his sidemen stretch out. 13 members of the band (everyone except two trumpeters, the guitarist and bassist) have solo space along the way.
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Larry Taylor, JazzReview.com
I’m always amazed at the number of bands of young musicians around the country, rehearsing regularly and playing gigs at small clubs. One of these is Elliot Deutsch's Southern California-based ensemble, which roars onto the scene in its debut release Weeknight Music.
These unheralded 17 players reach near cohesive brilliance in a selection of seven originals written by Deutsch, trumpeter Brian Owen and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Emerzian, augmented with four sterling standards.
All arrangements are by Deutsch. It is clear he has listened to big band greats. …
Wildy Haskell, Wildy's World
Elliot Deutsch knows the truth, that Jazz was Rock N Roll before Rock was born. The twenty-six year old performer, composer and bandleader has been knocking them for a loop on the Los Angeles Jazz scene since 2007, and released the debut album from the Elliot Deutsch Big Band, Weeknight Music, last year. Hard driving swing is the order of the day, mixed with rambunctious play and musical risk taking that harkens back to a time when Jazz was the high-wire act of American music and here adherents were the stars. Deutsch's background is rock solid, having played with or under the likes of Lalo Schifrin, BB King, Jason Mraz, Kenny Burrell, Les McCann, Hubert Laws, Bobby Rodriquez and Pato Banton.
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Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Weeknight Music, as it turns out, is suitable for any time of day or night, for weekends, holidays and any type of special occasion where the music must be sultry and swinging. Trumpeter Elliot Deutsch's young southern California-based ensemble comes out roaring on its debut album and keeps the pedal to the metal through a marvelous sequence of engaging charts by Deutsch, trumpeter Brian Owen and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Emerzian.
That's not to imply that every number is played at or near warp speed.
Au contraire. Easygoing anthems can't evince much more charm than Deutsch's "Coffee Time," Emerzian's "Home," or the leader's shimmering arrangements of "The Nearness of You" (on which his gossamer flugelhorn is front and center) and "When I Fall in Love." …
Bob Comden, L.A. Jazz Scene
From Bob's Beat, July 2010
ELLIOT DEUTSCH BIG BAND AT VITELLO'S
Trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, arranger Elliot Deutsch presented his young, new Big Band at Vitello's. Deutsch has a new CD out, titled Weeknight Music, which is self-released. It's always amazing how a big band can fit so well in the upstairs room at Vitello's but it works. The band was in top form, consisting of some very fine, young players that included: Walt Simonsen, Bijon Watson, Jon Bradley, Brian Owen - trumpets; Mike Briones, Erm Navarro, Paul Young, Steve Hughes - trombones; Stephan Cardenas, Ken Moran, Will Vargas, Nate Ketner, Jimmy Emerzian - saxes; Dan Marschak - piano, A.J. …
John Sollenberger, Pasadena Weekly
Swing's the thing.
The Elliot Deutsch Big Band puts a young face on an old form.
The swing renaissance hit big time in the late 1990s, and its echo can still be heard today. A new generation of swingers has been making its mark on the form their grandparents enjoyed, and you can catch a great example of the trend Tuesday night when the Elliot Deutsch Big Band swings by Café 322 in Sierra Madre.
This group performs all original tunes, propelled by a lineup of 17 of the hottest young players on the LA scene. While keeping true to the feel of the genre, the band puts its own mark on the music, with a slick, modern, jazzy style. …
Ricky Ricardo, BrooWaha
Excerpt from his review of the 2008 UCLA JazzReggae Festival
Last year, I applauded the festival organizers for adding more jazz to the line-up since they introduced JAM Day on Sunday, which was previously called Jazz Day. Their gamble paid off handsomely once again with a line-up of jazz featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith, John Densmore and Tribal Jazz, Elliot Deutsch Big Band and The Brent Canter Trio. The Elliot Deutsch Big Band kicked off the festival with a swinging extravaganza of straight ahead jazz with his big band. Elliot Deutsch is a gifted trumpeter/arranger. …