Panamericana at TD Toronto Jazz Festival at Lula Lounge

About

This Canadian big band was formed in 2004 to showcase modern Cuban and Brazilian classics. The emphasis in the band has been the orchestration and arrangement of some of the wealth of material emerging from the contemporary composers of Brazil, including such major talents as Egberto Gismonti, Milton Nascimento, Hermeto Pascoal, Jovino Santos Neto and Itibere Zwarg. This is not your father's big band. Although Gary is steeped in the big band tradition and sound, PanAmericana! represents an attempt to expand, through orchestration, his rhythmic, melodic and harmonic ideas.