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Andy Farber
As a leader, Farber leads an 8-piece band (Andy Farber & his Swing Mavens) and a17-piece big band, Andy Farber & his Orchestra. The orchestra enjoyed a 2-year residency at Birdland in NYC. A new CD with the orchestra is due out Fall 2010.
When he’s not playing jazz, Farber composes music for TV and film and is a staff composer at Duotone Audio Group. Farber also teaches jazz composition and arranging at The Juilliard School in New York City.
Gear
RS Berkeley artist Virtuoso alto & tenor saxophones + an assortment of vintage Conn and Selmer saxophones. Buffet clarinet, Leblanc bass clarinet, Haynes flute Logic pro audio and Sibelius software
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Andy Farber and His Orchestra: Early Blue Evening
by Jack Bowers
Saxophonist Andy Farber's New York-based orchestra came together and cut its teeth as the onstage band for three hundred performances of After Midnight, a Broadway revue that paid tribute to Jazz Age nightclub luminaries from Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie to Harold Arlen, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh. As one might presume from the orchestra's provenance, echoes of Ellington and Basie can readily be discerned on its first recording since After Midnight closed in 2014--but Farber, who wrote ...
read moreAndy Farber and his Orchestra: This Could Be the Start of Something Big
by Edward Blanco
Composer Andy Farber writes musical scores for television commercials and movies, but This Could Be The Start of Something Big is Farber's big band debut, showcasing his talents as a multi-reed musician and bandleader. Recorded in late 2009, after a two-year stint playing every Sunday evenings at New York's famed Birdland, the album features an eighteen-piece orchestra with legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks and veteran alto saxophonist Jerry Dodgion as special guests. Providing all of the arrangements, Farber produces an explosive ...
read moreAndy Farber and His Orchestra: This Could Be the Start of Something Big
by Woodrow Wilkins
It's like strutting down memory lane. Andy Farber and His Orchestra present 14 big band pieces with This Could Be the Start of Something Big. A product of Long Island, Farber grew up listening to Art Blakey and Miles Davis. He began attending jazz workshops at the age of 10 and developed into a multifaceted woodwinds player. On this outing, he plays alto, tenor and baritone saxophones and flute. The ensemble features a full-size horn section and a ...
read moreAndy Farber and his Orchestra: This Could Be The Start Of Something Big
by Dan Bilawsky
Whatever happened to big bands that swing? While the big bands of yesteryear provided music for dancing and a healthy appreciation for swinging soloists and hip arrangements, that isn't the case today. Many of the most popular--and critically acclaimed--large ensembles in modern times are winning fans with highbrow conceptualism and compositions that, as brilliant as they are, won't have anybody dancing anytime soon. Fortunately, a few venues in New York City are still happy to house some ...
read moreAndy Farber and His Orchestra: This Could Be The Start Of Something Big
by Bruce Lindsay
The sight and sound of one of the classic big bands in full flight must have been something to behold. For those fans of big band jazz who never got to experience such a thing, as well as for those who did and remember it fondly, Andy Farber And His Orchestra bring the sound back with a bang on This Could Be The Start Of Something Big. Saxophonist Farber arranged and conducted all of the tunes, as ...
read moreTake Five With Andy Farber
by AAJ Staff
Meet Andy Farber:Andy Farber is an award-winning jazz composer, arranger and saxophonist and has spent years performing with the likes of Jon Hendricks and Wynton Marsalis. Since 1994, Farber has been part of the Jazz @ Lincoln Center stable of writers and performers. Through J@LC, Farber has toured with the J@LC Orchestra, written originals compositions and arrangements and been a guest artistic director. Farber has written arrangements for people like Wynton Marsalis, Jon Hendricks, Shirley ...
read moreAndy Farber: Making Beautiful Sounds
Source:
Jazz Lives by Michael Steinman
Having a large jazz orchestra in this century has often posed challenges besides the economic ones. Many “big bands" get formed only for special occasions and are thus not well-rehearsed. Then there's the matter of repertoire: should a band made up of improvising jazz players go into the past or boldly plunge into the future, however one defines it? Or should such an orchestra bridge Past and Present—not an easy thing: it means more than letting the saxophone soloist play ...
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Andy Farber & His Orchestra Featuring Hilary Kole
Source:
All About Jazz
Composer and saxophonist Andy Farber will lead his 17-piece jazz orchestra at Birdland every Sunday. The Birdland residence will begin on the 16th of March 2008 with a preview on the 24th of February. In addition to newly composed works, Andy Farber & his Orchestra will play new arrangements from the American popular songbook and the world of jazz. Featured with the band will be the up and coming vocalist and composer, Miss Hilary Kole. Also along for the ride ...
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Primary Instrument
Saxophone
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Contact for info
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