For those not in the know, spontaneous, funky, and undeniably a party, the BT ALC Big Band assembles the finest musicians from Boston and beyond to create something totally original.

Featuring on Sax Pete Levesque, Rick Stone, Bill Vint, Mike Tucker, Tucker Antell, Jared Sims, and Ben Whiting; on Bones Ben Griffin, Brian Thomas, Clayton DeWalt, Jeff Hoyer, Chris Beaudry, and Angel Subero; on Trumpets Yaure Muniz, Alex Lee-Clark, Doug Olsen, and Trent Austin; and on Rhythm Ted Sullivan, Jeffrey Lockhart, Steve Fell, Sam Gilman, and Darby Wolf, BT ALC Big Band is one of the most dedicated and deserving of the spotlight bands I've heard in many a year.

Since the their formation in 2011, the BT ALC Big Band, led by trombonist Brian Thomas (BT) and trumpeter Alex Lee-Clark (ALC), has gained a reputation for hard grooving original compositions featuring the most talented jazz and funk musicians in Boston.

The BT ALC Big Band (who released their debut album, Superhero Dance Party in 2013 and then their sophomore two-volume album The Herd Sessions in 2016) draws from the big band traditions of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Thad Jones and infuses music from funk legends like James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, and The Meters, creating an undeniably unique sound, Big Band Funk.

Ya'll might have already seen Thomas in the mix with Ropeadope alum Otis Grove and Akashic Record, but now he takes the musical reins alongside Lee-Clark for their joint new album.

Indeed, on May 17th, 2019, this vibrant 19 piece original funk/soul/hip hop/jazz big band will release their simply incredible, so richly vibrant album The Search For Peace via Ropeadope Records.

1. 'Soft Shoe'
2. 'Dance'
3. 'Make It Your Job'
4. 'The Search For Peace'
5. 'Tune For Lou'
6. 'Live 9'
7. 'Paging Dr. Cooperman'

Believe me when I say that each and every track on this wondrous and so alive album is as great as this genre could ever hope to be. With each of the seven tracks inclusive of the vibe of those big bands from the '50s and '60s, BT ALC's approach here was obviously to incorporate that old-school approach to their own sound.

Ergo, what we get at times are some high-voltage energy passion plays combined with some muscled horn section layers, to rhythm sections that could lift you clean off your feet!

The result is a vintage sound of rhythm and groove - that they themselves call "big band funk" - that back in the day would have given George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic a huge run for their money!

Not so much of a tribute to those big names or even the aforementioned eras, The Search For Peace is more a willingness for these highly talented musicians to continue to push the art of the genre forward in todays society.

To bring to this new generation that feeling of uplifting, rapturous and culturally relevant, vibrant music in much the same way as when tracks such as 'Pennsylvania 6-5000,' 'Ain't Misbehavin' and 'Take The "A" Train' were first brought forth to the masses.

www.BTALCs.com

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BT ALC Big Band @ Twitter

www.ropeadope.com