Dave Siebels with: Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

David Siebels | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 12, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: PBGL, Inc.
• ASIN: B001Q5HOUC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,286 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best combination!, June 16, 2009

By 

Bernie Music "Audio God" (Maplewood, MN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dave Siebels with: Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band (Audio CD)

If you love the B3 Hammond and the best Big Band on the planet right now, you must get this CD. I do love the Big Phat Band and the sound of a well played Hammond B3. This is a Merger from heaven!
Not a bad track on the recording. Great original compositions by Dave Siebels and others with amazing arrangements by Gordon Goodwin. The Big Phat Band just can't fail to play whatever is put in front of them.
When I first heard "I Wish" on a local radio station I knew before the end of the song that it had to be from this CD and I couldn't wait for my order to arrive. This is perfection.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Phat Band with a B3: an ear-opener, September 2, 2009

By 

M. R. Traska "jazz fan, lounge lizard, and sw... (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dave Siebels With Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band (MP3 Download)

I'm really not a fan of the Hammond B3 organ in jazz: more than two tracks in a row usually makes me wish the keyboardist had played a Yamaha Clavinova instead and had used a few different keyboard voices, just to prevent everything sounding the same. However, Dave Siebels with Goodwin's group made me sit up and take notice. Now, I'm not an uncritical listener when it comes to big bands; there are enough so-so arrangers and contemporary bands out there to bore me more than occasionally. And I measure all big bands against Basie for swing and Duke at his most creative. That said, Goodwin and the Big Phat Band rarely disappoint -- they're tight, polished, highly inventive, often witty, massively swinging, and infectiously fun. While this album doesn't *quite* meet the very high standard of XXL, Act Your Age, Swingin For The Fences, or The Phat Pack, it does deliver and surprise often, and I found myself not objecting so much to the B3, with which Siebels acquits himself nicely. That's saying a lot, although by the sixth or seventh track I really did wish for a different keyboard voice; and that plus one or two slightly underwhelming arrangements are mostly why I gave this four stars instead of five. Admittedly, that's partly my bias against the B3 operating; but it's also so hard even for Goodwin's group to maintain the extraordinarily high level of quality in the tunes they select and arrangements they use that I shouldn't be surprised when they show a hint of fallibility now and them. But they're STILL the best big band alive and playing, hands down. No contest! So, bottom line: get this album if you like the B3, and at least give it a listen if you don't (you might be pleasantly surprised). As for me, I'll hang on to this, but if their next release skips the organ, I'll be a lot happier ...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive display of B3 organ + big band, November 25, 2010

By 

James A. Vedda (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dave Siebels with: Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band (Audio CD)

The Hammond B3 organ backed up by a big band is a good combination that you don't hear very often. A couple of good examples: Wild Bill Davis on Duke Ellington's 70th Birthday Concert, and Joey DeFrancesco with the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note in a 2009 concert in Washington that should have been released on an album. In that tradition, Dave Siebels joins the Big Phat Band for this 2008 recording.
Only seven of the 10 tracks include the Big Phat Band; the other three tracks are Siebels with a few backup players, only one of whom is listed among the big band personnel. In other words, if you're looking for an album that really showcases what this band can do, this isn't it. But these folks are professionals, so they do what needs to be done: superb backup for their guest soloist.
The selections are mostly Siebels originals supplemented by a couple of popular tunes (for example, Neal Hefti's "Girl Talk" and Stevie Wonder's "I Wish"), with six of the big band arrangements written by Gordon Goodwin. A great addition for jazz organ aficionados or for any collection lacking a good sample of jazz on the B3. But be sure to check out other Big Phat Band albums that will really blow you away.
Liner notes are minimal, so if you want any background on Siebels or the band, you won't find it here.