The Either/Orchestra turns 25 on December 17, 2010!

For a quarter century, the Massachusetts-based ten-piece E/O has been exploring the borders of jazz, redefining what it means to be a “big band," expanding the palette of the jazz combo and building bridges between yesterday's jazz and tomorrow's.

Founder/leader Russ Gershon's background and sensibility intertwine jazz with decades of American popular music; the group's travels and collaborations traverse jazz and Ethiopian music; its international lineup creates a unique, organic pan-American Latin jazz sound. The group has evolved through many incarnations and first exposed to the public such future jazz luminaries as Miguel Zenon, John Medeski, Matt Wilson, Josh Roseman, Jaleel Shaw, Andrew D'Angleo, Mike Rivard and Curtis Hasselbring.

Early in its career, in the 1980s and 90s, facing long odds against performing regularly with such a large band, the E/O adopted a grass roots approach to touring, launching itself on long van tours to bring its cutting-edge concept to small towns and big cities all over the US. Later, as opportunities grew, came visits to festivals and concert halls in nine countries of Europe, Russia, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Along the way, the group has released a series of critically acclaimed albums, including the Grammy-nominated Calculus of Pleasure (1992) and 2005's spectacularly well-received Ethiopiques 20: Live in Addis. Over the past decade the E/O has also become perhaps the world's most prominent non-Ethiopian exponent of Ethiopian music, collaborating with the top musicians of Ethiopia's golden era, the 1960's and 70s:
Complete on  >>  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=64238


Opening night of the 2004 Ethiopian Music Festival.