The band began around 1991, and played originals and covers arranged by Johnston, as well as music by Ruddick, Norton, Swell and DeBellis. They recorded three CDs: two for Black Saint, and one for Avant.
They performed Johnston’s score for Tod Browning’s The Unknown, and performed, among other places, in Rome’s Teatro Verdi, and Florida’s Disney World.
Really, why should this music be called avant-garde? Should a band as gloriously fun as Phillip Johnston’s Big Trouble really be given a stylistic label equated by many with either difficult art music or deadly serious free jazz? Yes, in the ’90s jazz world, the enormously engaging saxophonist/composer and his band of accomplished musical pranksters definitely fell on the avant side of things, but that was more a reflection of the sorry state of the mainstream, in comparison to which, of course, any era’s avant-garde is defined.
“Throughout the recording, Johnston and his cohorts prove that “accessible” needn’t be a dirty word, even in the avant-garde world. If you’ve got ears on the sides of your head, this CD’s for you.”
– AllMusic.com
Musicians
Phillip Johnston: soprano, alto saxophone
Steve Swell or Jim Leff: trombone
Rob DeBellis: baritone/soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, alto flute
Joe Ruddick: piano, keyboards, sampler
Dave Hofstra: bass
Kevin Norton: drums
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