Monday, May 3, 2010

Chimera: New Release from BIG WORDS


3 Elements of Chimera

The third element to make up the mythical creature that is the Chimera, is the tiger. This fierce, dangerous, yet adaptable and most recognizable of all cats, Josh equates with soul, gospel and funk. The tiger represents the Earthy, gritty, feel-good music of this album that is sure to get the crowd jumping, dancing and shakin' their hips. Drawing influences from Van Morrison and Elvis' "Elvis in Memphis," by the end of this album it is the gospel what will leave you screaming Halleluja!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Chimera: New Release from BIG WORDS


3 Elements of Chimera

The second element making up the whole of Chimera is the porcupine. Musically, the porcupine represents the freaky-free-grunge-jazz of this album. Incorporating elements of hip-hop, World music and African rhythms, much of this album takes on the free-jazz improvisations of 70s Miles Davis, and the present day Wayne Krantz. Check out Chimera and let your freakiness ensue.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Chimera: New Release from BIG WORDS


3 Elements of Chimera

The first is the Rattle Snake. The Rattle Snake represents tight executions of modern jazz and funk that you will hear on songs like "King of the Fade" and "Drink This Potion." Both tracks find tightly arranged compositions with influences drawn from The Funky Meters, Van Morrison, and Jimmy Smith.

BIG WORDS VIDEO

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Story of BIG WORDS, a Jazz trio from NYC

With the trio, playing jazz standards and originals, Josh began a quest to arrange the melodies of his songs between drums, piano and bass. Traditionally it is the piano that would play the melodies, but Josh wanted to finds ways of percussively arranging the compositions with an emphasis on the bass.

After playing a show at a college in Boston in the Fall of 2008, Josh was moved by the way the young crowd responded to the show. Familiar with playing shows in NYC, where the audiences tend to be older and have a kind of jazz elitist listening ear, a crowd that takes a lot to impress, Josh was excited to see an audience moving and dancing to his music

Fall 2008 Josh wanted to take a new turn with BIG WORDS. He started writing new music for the trio setting. As Josh was getting more confident with his electric bass playing, and he new his drummer can groove to rock and soul jams and his piano player started playing more keyboards, the switch from straight ahead jazz to a more exciting rock improvisational trio seemed like a natural transition. With influences from The Bad Plus and Medeski Martin & Wood, Josh took his new music and new direction for the band on the road in the Spring of 2009 playing to colleges around NY MA and CT.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Story of BIG WORDS, a Jazz trio from NYC

I am here to tell all of you the story of how BIG WORDS became one of the hippest, coolest, most experimental, grunge-tastic jazz/rock/funk bands out of Brooklyn, NY.


BIG WORDS was started by my good friend and bass player, Josh Myers. In his senior year of college, Josh set out to create a jazz quintet, consisting of bass, drums, piano and 2 horns. With 2 horn players out front, driving the melodies and laying down jazz solos, it took the pressure off Josh allowing him to develop his bass playing and writing skills. This is where he came up with the name “BIG WORDS,” referring to an episode of The Simpsons. Remember the one where there is a board room meeting and one of the executives is using all these big impressive words? Than one of the young wise-alecky guys stands up and says, “but aren’t these just BIG WORDS that stupid people say to make themselves seem smarter?” Than the wise-alecky guy gets fired, “Doh.” So this was Josh’s idea, to bring in the best musicians he could find to make him seem better, and at the same time challenge himself and his playing in order to take his music to the next level.

After gigging with the quintet for a while...

Josh got rid of the horns and turned the band into a trio, which proved to be a difficult, but rewarding challenge on its own...


Monday, February 1, 2010