Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra Steven Feifke, Bijon Watson & Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra

• 1 I've Got Algorithm 05:47
• 2 Sassy 05:03
• 3 Inner Urge 05:46
• 4 Until 07:11
• 5 Scenes From My Dreams 06:43
• 6 Remember Me 06:27
• 7 Dollars Moods 05:38
• 8 Nica's Dream 08:14
• 9 Blues In A Second 06:22
• Total Runtime 57:11

Info for Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra

Steven Feifke and Bijon Watson have joined forces to bring together a big band featuring some of the most well known names in all of jazz including Kurt Elling, Sean Jones, John Fedchock, and more.

The co-leaders are both "frequent-flyer-mile" performers in a number of internationally acclaimed large ensembles, and noticed one small problem in each one: there is almost no generation gap! The longstanding tradition spearheaded by artists like Art Blakey and Horace Silver of hiring the "young guns" for an ensemble has all but disappeared in recent years.

With more than two decades between them, Steven and Bijon make the objective of “The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra” to strengthen that tradition of mentorship that has shaped and defined the jazz idiom since its earliest beginnings.

Steven Feifke, piano
Bijon Watson, lead trumpet
Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra:
Chad LB, tenor saxophone (track 1)
Kurt Elling, voice (tracks 2 & 4)
Sean Jones, trumpet (tracks 7, 9)
Alexa Tarantino, alto saxophone, flute
Christopher McBride, alto saxophone, flute
Thomas Luer, tenor Saxophone, flute
Roxy Coss, tenor saxophone, flute
Lauren Sevian, baritone saxophone
Bijon Watson, trumpet, flugelhorn
Tanya Darby, trumpet, flugelhorn
Mike Rodriguez, trumpet, flugelhorn
Danny Jonokuchi, trumpet, flugelhorn
John Fedchock, trombone
Javier Nero, trombone
Kalia Vandever, trombone
Jennifer Wharton, bass trombone
Will Brahm, guitar
Dan Chmielinski, bass
Ulysses Owens, Jr., drums

Steven Feifke
Recognized as one of the leading composers for Big Band by the Recording Academy, producer of the Grammy's and heralded a "masterful pianist" by JAZZIZ Magazine, Steven Feifke is an award winning bandleader, composer, and arranger who has appeared on over thirty records before turning thirty years old. A Yamaha Performing Artist and a two-time semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition, DownBeat Magazine says Feifke's music is "an air of infectious joy."

An internationally recognized composer, arranger and orchestrator, Feifke is the recipient of the 2020 David Baker Prize from the Ravinia Festival, and has written for orchestras around the world including Orchestra Senzapine in Florence, Italy and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra..

His compositions and orchestrations have also been prominently featured on such hit TV shows as The Masked Singer [FOX], Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee [Netflix], Impractical Jokers [TruTV], Animaniacs [Hulu], and the 2016 award-winning animated short Solo.

A respected educator, Feifke sits on faculty at Berklee College of Music and The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. In addition to frequent guest lecturer and guest artist visits at educational institutions around the US including New York University, Yale University, Northern Illinois University, and more, Feifke maintains a small private Zoom studio of inspired composition and jazz piano students.

Bijon Watson
Watson’s career as a musician and educator spans more than 25 years and has taken him around the globe to perform for audiences worldwide. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Bijon began playing the trumpet at the age of 8. He attended the New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory School, and the University of Southern California, and was a member of the 1994 Disney All-American College Band and 1995 Disney/Grammy All-American College Jazz Band. ​

Bijon’s recording and/or live performance and touring credits are vast and the short list includes iconic artists such as Natalie Cole, Michael Bublé, Justin Timberlake, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, Michael Jackson, Arturo Sandoval, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Joe Williams, Queen Latifah, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Nicholas Payton, Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Eric Benét, Jamiroquai, Prince, Barbara Morrison, Dianne Reeves, Nancy Wilson, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Luis Miguel, The Temptations, and Gladys Knight. ​

Bijon’s love for big band and latin jazz inspired him to become a student of the great bands of the past and present and he has become a sought after and in-demand lead trumpet player. Bijon is the lead trumpet for the Grammy-nominated Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, the Grammy-nominated John Daversa Progressive Big Band, the Grammy-nominated John Beasley’s Monkestra, José Rizo’s Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars, the late Gerald Wilson Jazz Orchestra, and many other jazz, salsa, and pop bands throughout the United States. Internationally, Bijon has recorded and performed live as lead trumpet with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band.

On television, Bijon has performed on episodes of “American Idol”, as well as “The Tonight Show”, Grammy Awards shows, The BET Music Awards, and “Dancing With The Stars”. Bijon’s film appearances include appearing in the award-winning film “La La Land” and recording on several soundtracks with studios such as Paramount, Fox, and Disney, including most recently “Despicable Me 2”, and “The Secret Life of Pets”.

As a classically trained musician, Bijon has had the opportunity to perform as a guest with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony.

A dedicated educator, Bijon is an in-demand clinician that has given master classes and clinics to colleges, conservatories, secondary schools, high schools, and middle schools throughout the United States, and Europe, as well as maintaining a private lesson studio.

Bijon is an Stomvi USA/Spain performing artist and uses the Stomvi line of horns exclusively. He performs on the VRII Custom Big Bell Bb Trumpet, as well as the Stomvi Master Bb, Flugelhorn, and C trumpet, and the Stomvi Elite Piccolo. Bijon also uses the Stomvi Flex Mouthpiece System.

This album contains no booklet.