“Flintstoned” – VL Big Band

No, that’s not a picture of the VL Big Band, that’s the Stan Kenton Orchestra courtesy of Wikimedia. I imagine Stan just counted the band in with a “1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…11.”

For the 1997 Summer NAMM show, my man, Avery from Yamaha put together a big band where all the “horns” (and parts of the rhythm section) were VL instruments. And this was not just some pickup band, these were the CATS!

Check out this lineup:

“Saxes”
Tom Scott
Brandon Fields
Gary Meek
Michael Andreas
Mike Overlin

“Trumpets”
Matt Catingub
Greg Huckins
Nyle Steiner

“Trombone”
Alan Palmer
Paul Furtkamp
Ron Mills

Rhythm Section
Bass: Neil Stubenhaus
Keyboards: Patrice Rushen
Drums: Steve Gadd
Guitar: Vinny Valentino

The tune is the theme from the Flintstones with a Wayne Shorter-influenced reharmonization. The soloists are Matt Catingub, Gary Meek and Patrice Rushen. Check it out:

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1997, big band, jazz, NAMM, vl, yamaha