Trombonist, composer, and bandleader Nick Finzer is proud to announce the release of his first full-length big band album, The Jazz Orchestra Volume 1, on August 22th, 2025. Featuring an all-star lineup of New York’s finest rising star jazz musicians, the album pays tribute to the rich history of the jazz orchestra while offering a fresh, contemporary voice in the large ensemble tradition.

Finzer’s journey toward a big band recording was organic rather than intentional, stemming from years of composing and arranging for the format. “I never set out to make a big band album,” he reflects, “but over time, I realized that I had built a collection of pieces that I truly loved for the jazz orchestra. Duke Ellington was my earliest and biggest inspiration to get into this music — and his ability to write for individual players rather than just instruments is something I’ve always admired and aspired to as a bandleader.”

This recording is a product of the post-pandemic era, captured in a single-day session in 2022 through a grant from the University of North Texas. With a carefully curated ensemble of top-tier musicians, the project came together in a fast-paced single day setting that captured the raw energy and spontaneity of the music.

1. Say When
2. The Guru
3. Lament
4. We the People
5. Again and Again
6. Just Passed the Horizon

The album, whose title reflects Finzer’s conscious effort to contribute to the innovative and ever-evolving trajectory of large ensemble jazz, opens on the magnificently organically-imbibed Say When and then we get the richly veined The Guru, the euphonious Lament (a tribute to JJ Johnson’s iconic trombone ballad), the dutifully structured We the People, the set rounding out on an astutely cultured Again and Again, coming to an all too soon close on the all-embracing rhythms within Just Passed the Horizon.

One of the defining elements of The Jazz Orchestra Volume 1 is the blend of small-group interplay within the full jazz orchestra setting. At its core, the ensemble features members of Finzer’s longtime sextet (formed in 2012), including Lucas Pino (tenor sax), Alex Wintz (guitar), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Dave Baron (bass), and Jimmy Macbride (drums), seamlessly integrated with an expanded roster of some of New York’s finest rising star jazz musicians.

This release also marks the beginning of an ongoing journey, as the “Volume 1” in the title suggests. “I hope this is the first of many big band recordings in my catalog,” says Finzer.