The Music

Some of our music is arranged by the following talented individuals:.

Sammy Nestico: Without doubt the doyen of Big Band composer-arrangers, Sammy Nestico was born in Pittsburg in 1924 and became staff trombonist at station WCAE, Pittsburgh at the age of seventeen. After seven years there he accepted the post of Director of Music at Westinghouse memorial High School in Wilmerding and held this position until joining the United States Air Force as Musical Director of the world famous 'Airmen of Note'. During 15 years in the service he became well known as an arranger, composer and performer for all types of musical aggregations and was a member of the United States Marine Band, Washington, called the President's Own. In civilian life he played with Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet and Gene Krupa before arranging and composing for the Count Basie Band brought him international recognition amongst Big Band afficionados. He is one of the few top class arrangers who can write equally well for both school musicians and professional groups and every Big Band has at least one of his compositions/arrangements in its library.

Frank Mantooth: A graduate of North Texas State University and the Austrian Akadamie Fuer Musik, he is an active pianist, composer, clinician, educator and recording artist. Frank's 'Suite Tooth' and 'Persevere' albums on the Optimism label have met with great acclaim (including Grammy nomination), and recent recording/performance collaborations have included jazz artists Clark Terry, Marvin Stamm, Louis Bellson, Bobby Shew, Art Farmer, Kevin Mahogany and others too numerous to name.

Bob Mintzer: A prominent New York City-based saxophonist and composer, he has written for and/or recorded with Deodato, Buddy Rich, Tito Puente, Hubert Laws, Art Blakey, Teuro Nockamura, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and many more. As leader of his own big band for several years, numerous recordings on the prestigious DMP label have earned him the praise of jazz critics the world over. In addition to all of this, Bob is also a member of the fabulous Yellowjackets.

Mike Tomaro: Formerly with the Army Blues jazz ensemble, Mike is Director of Jazz Studies at Duquesne University, where he originally earned his BS degree in music education. He was later awarded the MA degree in Performance with highest honours from George Mason University in Virginia. Three recordings showcasing his talents have been performed on the Positive and Seabreeze labels, and his music has been performed by Randy Becker, Ed Soph, Bobby Shew, Al Vizzutti, and others.

Pen Portraits courtesy of Kendor Music Inc.

The Urban Big Band also regularly plays arrangements from the libraries of Count Basie, Tom Kubis, Rob McConnell, Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, Matt Cattingub and Neal Hefti.