The “Jazz Royalty: Ellington & Basie Reign” concert on Saturday, March 7 will also include an album release party for the group’s first recording at 7:30 p.m. at the John Legend Theater, 700 S. Limestone St. Tickets are still available, and the show is presented by the Busch Family Foundation and the Carol Busch Concert Series.
The event will feature several special guest performers, including Marquise Knox, and the chance to pre-order the full-length album “Royalty” on LP, CD or streaming. It will be released on April 3.
The SSJO has swung here since 2019, and it was around a year ago that group founder and music director Todd Stoll and the musicians pondered what to record. The answer was simple.
“Just swing and play the music we love,” said Stoll.
The SSJO members stayed over after last summer’s Springfield Jazz and Blues Festival and instead of going to a fancy studio, they opted for a comfortable setting: the Clark State Performing Arts Center’s Turner Studio Theater to record the music of Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
Several guest performers were persuaded to record with the group, including up-and-coming young singer Ekep Nkwelle; Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Kurt Elling, who is currently performing on Broadway in “Hadestown”; and Jeff Hamilton, a celebrated drummer who has played with some of the biggest names in jazz in his 50-year career.
Hamilton was inspired by his Springfield and SSJO concert experience a year ago so much he returned for last year’s festival and, enticed by barbecue and baked goods from Stoll’s wife, Elaine, stayed for the recording session.
Several of the band members, from the sax players to the trumpet section, get to shine on solos.
The tunes chosen were meant to reflect what the SSJO has performed from its first concert in 2019 – Frank Foster’s “Who Me” written for Basie – to its fall 2025 show. Stoll said another interesting choice is a “rare but beautiful” Ellington tune called “Banquet Scene.”
“It’s all the stuff we love to do and everybody gets a taste. This music is personal for us,” Stoll said.
When mixing and mastering the album in New York City, Stoll knew he was onto something more than just a vanity recording when those working on it asked where this band was from and Stoll was happy to tell them it wasn’t from a Jazz at Lincoln Center project, where he works, it was from his hometown, Springfield.
Even the album’s liner notes stand out. Author, editor and historian Geoffrey Ward, who may be best known for his collaborations with documentarian Ken Burns, was persuaded to write about the project.
It was done on the T2 music label and local producers included Dr. Ashfaq Ahmed and Drs. Bruce and Karen Shylo.
Stoll said this isn’t the only record the SSJO would like to do. He’s hoping for a yearly recording, including a Christmas album in the spirit of the live shows they do each December at Mother Stewart’s Brewery, and one featuring original songs by hometown music heroes from Springfield including Johnny Lytle and Sir Charles Thompson.
“It’s been a little bit of an adventure, but this recording is astonishingly good,” said Stoll.
Tickets cost $33.42 and $17.82 for students. To purchase tickets or for more information on the concert or how to order the album, go to springfieldsym.org.
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