Knoxville Jazz Orchestra
Great Experiences Through Great Music

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Vibrations.com
Paris, France
July, 2007
"This orchestra of Knoxville, TN has transformed its city into a new mecca of Jazz."

JazzReview.com
July, 2007
"A top-flight and irrefutably happening program, indeed."
Regarding the "Blues Man from
Memphis" CD

Pianist Hank Jones
April, 2004
post concert interview with
the Knoxville News Sentinel

"The band was wonderful. A lot of bands don't have that kind of depth and maturity. Those are players who work as one and they sound like the greatest Benny Goodman band. I can't say enough good about them."

Cadenzas
March, 2003
by Marvin Stamm

"The performance with the KJO took place in the concert hall at the University of Tennessee. The band was excellent, and the rhythm section, comprised of pianist Bill Swann, bassist Rusty Holloway and drummer Keith Brown, was exceptional. All the section work was tight and swinging, and the brass was “happening,” especially the trombones. The band’s performance was exciting, and their library, mostly written by Vance, was a pleasure to listen to – very musical and swingin’ hard!"

Cadence Magazine
July 2001
The Music of Donald Brown

The music of Donald Brown was new to me, as was the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, and I must say I am delighted to have made their acquaintance. Brown, who is evidently something of a jazz legend in the Knoxville area, is not only an excellent writer, but his compositions, orchestrated by trumpeter Vance Thompson, are exceedingly well played by the one-year-old KJO.

52nd Street Jazz Review
The Music of Donald Brown

I shouldn't have been surprised at the high level of musicianship when I received for review The Music Of Donald Brown by the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. One thing I've learned is to cast aside preconceptions when listening to any jazz group. Under the leadership of a Knoxville native who spent some time in Chicago as well, Vance Thompson, the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra sizzles with excitement as it performs his complex and engaging arrangements.

In other words, the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra--even though its first CD is self-produced and even though its members perform without pay--is of the highest caliber. Frankly, it rivals the output of some of the better-known jazz bands. full review

The Metro Pulse
The Music of Donald Brown

"I Used to Think She Was Quiet" recalls some of the quieter charts of the Woody Herman Thundering Herd in the '60s, smack in the middle of the modern big band tradition. In contrast, "The Thing About Harold Mabern" opens with an orchestral flourish that might fit in a 19th century Cesar Franck or Edvard Grieg symphonic piece, then shifts directly into a vamp drawn from Mabern's Memphis piano style, amplified by the 12 horns to a level of excitement that might remind fusion fans of the more electric Return to Forever albums.

The Music of Donald Brown
The Knoxville News Sentinel
by Wayne Bledsoe

That Knoxvillians are lucky enough to have Donald Brown and have a band of this quality both working in town is nothing short of amazing. Brown writes complex music that is beguilingly listenable and the band pulls off each song with joyous aplomb.

The orchestra expands the unusual chord structures and progressions that seem so concise on piano or in small groups, but it retains the drama, emotional intimacy and humanity that marks Brown's most ingratiating work.

KJO on its way up in the jazz world
The Oak Ridger
by Nancy England

If you were at the Bijou Theater on June 22, 2001, in years to come you'll be able to say you caught the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra on the way up. It's got to be only a matter of time before this group becomes a household name in the jazz world.....

It boils down to two dominant aspects: the brilliant talent and drive of the leader, Vance Thompson; and the equally brilliant cohesion of 17 top performers.....

A hallmark of the KJO is its cohesiveness, welded together by mutual respect and admiration, and focused on a mutual goal. It shows.

East Tennessee Jazz Society Newsletter
July, 2001
by Bob Heintz

IT WAS A GRAND NIGHT FOR SWINGING

What makes an orchestra or a band?
Along with that, what makes a great concert?
Actually, quite a lot of things---
Tones.
Textures.
Colors.
Voicing.
Material.
Acoustics.
Talent.
Virtuosity.
And camaraderie.
And, of course, desire.
Probably even more

But this is not about just an orchestra or a band.
Or just about a concert.
It's about an entity. A totality. A whole.
And perfection. Flawless. Single mindedly with intensity and integrity.
At least to these eyes and ears.
It's the no hit game. A grand slam. Running the rack in 9 ball. A hole in one.
It's about the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra.
And the Bijou Theater.
And Friday, June 22.
And 2001.

Seventeen guys and a gal, pausing prior to a trip to musically conquer Europe, playing and singing their posteriors off for a full house of enthusiastic devotees of whatever this thing is that's called Jazz. Big band Jazz. Foot stomping Jazz. Exciting screaming Jazz. Whaling, cooking Jazz. Their names are familiar-Heflin, Wyatt, Cox, and Spirko. Swann, Brown and, of course, Holloway and Hough. And Lundberg and McDougall. And another Wyatt, and Mann and Tucker and Johnson and King. And Scarlett, musical mentor for many of those mentioned. And Thompson, the tall guy with the vision, and the sense of humor, and the horns, and the presence. And Ms. Crowe giving voice to Strayhorn's poignant Day Dream, once sung by the great Ella at the Grand Duke's funeral. And just one Hell of a night of great music. Wonderful music. Inspiring Music. Swinging music. By seventeen plus one who are committed to a common cause, a common purpose. Who care about each other and what they do, and how they do it. Professionally. Musically. And otherwise. In fact, every way wise. And that's what this is all about.

I bade them Bon Voyage.
I'm darn sure they'll take no prisoners!