A Decade Danny Jonokuchi

• 1 Voyage 04:37
• 2 Red Top 04:02
• 3 This Can't Be Love 03:04
• 4 South Philly 06:12
• 5 Skylark 05:17
• 6 On Green Dolphin Street 04:25
• 7 Ping Pong 04:35
• 8 Lady Bird 05:33
• 9 Like Someone In Love 06:20
• 10 Skylark (Vocal Take) 05:18
• Total Runtime 49:23

Info for A Decade

With four albums already under his belt as a bandleader, the The International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers (ISJAC) award-winning arranger and acclaimed composer, trumpeter, and vocalist Danny Jonokuchi is a preeminently established musical powerhouse of the present age. Now, honing his skills and patiently laying the groundwork over ten years of utter dedication, Jonokuchi is poised to release A Decade, a big band album featuring compositions that not only outline the signature flourish of the bandleader’s writing that earned him opportunities writing for Terell Stafford and Dick Oatts, but stands as an autobiographical testament to Jonokuchi’s ability to conquer every imaginable hurdle placed before him.

At its core, A Decade is a story. Jonokuchi, now well-known and beloved for his prowess as a trumpeter, began his career by overcoming a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Born with a congenital lung disease that remained malign through his young childhood, the condition manifested suddenly and aggressively when he was in high school. Already on track to be a powerhouse trumpeter, Jonokuchi was faced with a lung collapse that required surgical intervention. The life-saving surgery worked, but removed part of his lung. This forced a halt on his playing, and likewise forced him to reevaluate and rediscover his relationship with music, before instilling in him a new, indomitable resolve. Like the hero’s journey out of a classic myth cycle, Jonokuchi’s obstacles did not cease there.

In his 20s, Jonokuchi was a victim of random violence in South Philadelphia. The assailant brutally attacked him, leaving him with traumatic injuries to his mouth and permanent scar tissue on his embouchure. The incident, which would have permanently ended the career of many musicians, only further steeled Jonokuchi’s resolve. During the year-long hiatus of natural recovery in which Jonokuchi was unable to play trumpet, he honed his musicianship by digging deeply into composing and arranging, particularly for large ensembles. Finally, the hero’s journey culminated in one final obstacle: moving to New York. Jonokuchi had to relearn to play trumpet, almost from scratch, and decided that if he were to begin again, he may as well do so in New York. Now, ten years after his move to New York, Jonokuchi has risen up the ranks as a powerfully multifaceted musician whose hurdles of the past only acted to make him a greater person and musician. A Decade, then, is a testament to this journey and to his ten years in New York that have brought him to this point.

Musically, this album leaned into the traditions of jazz that have never phased out: swing, blues, and big band. Resting on Jonokuchi’s rock-solid abilities as an arranger, A Decade predominantly comprises jazz standards. The use of these melodies is a form of parallelism to Jonokuchi’s life: like the bandleader, these melodies have endured, adapting and remaining resilient and relevant today. “By arranging these classics, I sought to capture the indelible spirit of the music,” Jonokuchi says. “The energy of the shout choruses and the intimacy of the solos are meant to evoke a sense of joy, reflecting the unbreakable nature of swing and the blues.”

One of the pieces that best embodies the autobiographical elements and perseverance of this album is Jonokuchi’s original composition, “South Philly”. As the title suggests, this piece is directly inspired by the traumatic and life-altering incident to which Jonokuchi was an unfortunate victim. “‘South Philly’ is really about the assault that took away my passion,” Jonokuchi says. “It was incredibly sudden and earth shattering. It showed me how fragile life is and just how easily our path can change.” The album encompasses a broad range of emotion in its narrative, and this is evident on the inclusion of Jonokuchi’s arrangement of the Rodgers & Hart standard, “This Can’t Be Love”. When the world stopped in its tracks in 2020, Jonokuchi capitalized on the cessation to expand his musicality through singing. This arrangement of his vocal performance was originally slated to be on the bandleader’s album Voices (2023), but Jonokuchi decided to keep that spotlight to fully showcase his favorite vocal collaborators in New York, and reserved this arrangement for the big band iteration in which it now appears. In recent years, Jonokuchi learned more about his heroes, and in so doing discovered some of the hardships Wayne Shorter endured during his lifetime. Deeply moved by this knowledge, Jonokuchi felt compelled to honor Shorter’s legacy and arranged his piece, “Ping Pong”. Jonokuchi chose to use Mambo elements in this arrangement not only as a nod to Shorter’s original arrangement, but also to imbue the piece with a sense of tenacity.

A hallmark of every strong big band record is the band itself, and Jonokuchi’s fifth album rises to and far surpasses that standard. With Danny Jonokuchi at its fore as bandleader, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and vocalist, the album goes forth to further boast the presence of trumpeter Terell Stafford as a featured guest on Lionel Hampton’s “Red Top”. The band’s strength is found not only in its guests and leader, but in the foundational musicians atop which its sound is built. The big band for A Decade comprises, varying per track: Robert Edwards, Sara Jacovino, and Jason Jackson (trombones); Reginald Chapman (bass trombone); Nick Marchione (lead trumpet); John Lake, Scott Wendholt, Bruce Harris, Sam Hoyt, James Zollar, and Noah Halpern (trumpets); Andrew Gould, Chris Oatts, and Christopher McBride (alto saxophones); Jon Beshay and Chris Lewis (tenor saxophones); Andrew Gutauskas (baritone saxophone); Jeb Patton (piano); Samuel Harris (bass); Kevin Congleton (drums); and Víctor Pablo (percussion).

With A Decade, Danny Jonokuchi has established himself as more than a writer, more than a trumpeter, and more than a vocalist; he has proven that his is an artist, a poet, a creator capable of wearing his heart on his sleeve and presenting an exhibit filled with a degree of honesty and brilliance that it veritably overflows. As Jonokuchi places before audiences his reflection on his past decade in New York, listeners will be primed and eager for the potential of what will unfold in the next ten years and beyond.

Danny Jonokuchi Big Band

Danny Jonokuchi
is a multi-talented jazz artist based in New York City and Los Angeles. As a jazz trumpeter, vocalist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator, few artists are as diversely involved in their craft. He has been recognized for his performance on two GRAMMY Award-Winning projects, and you can hear his compositions and “world-class arrangements” (Broadway World) in renowned jazz clubs, listen to albums he has arranged and produced, and hear him perform on Broadway stages.

His newest big band album “Past is Present” will be released on April 5th, 2024 and his most recent big band album, “Voices”, features 11 jazz vocalists from New York City. He is also a recipient of several awards including the 2024 ISJAC Wayne Shorter Jazz Arranging Prize, the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Louis Armstrong Award, and he was unanimously named the winner of the 2020 Count Basie Great American Swing Contest. DownBeat Magazine remarked, “The music is expertly executed and offers an infectious, kinetic quality.”

Danny currently leads The Danny Jonokuchi Big Band, a 17-piece collection that performs Danny’s original works, and Danny Jonokuchi & The Revisionists, a swing band dedicated to performing for the international Lindy Hop community and have “a classic swing sound you wouldn’t think possible” (Syncopated Times).

Composing and arranging have always been Danny’s passion and his “well-crafted arrangements” (Jazz Weekly) have been performed by an incredible array of artists including Lady Gaga, Catherine Russell, Grammy-Winning vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, The Duke Ellington Legacy, The U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note, The Capitol Symphonie Orchester of Germany, The Budapest Scoring Orchestra, The Nashville Pops Orchestra, the United States Maneuver Center of Excellence Band, The Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, Brian Newman, Benny Benack III, Charles Turner & Uptown Swing, Hannah Gill, The Christian Wiggs Big Band, The Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band, The Birdland Big Band, The South Philly Big Band, Svetlana, & Peter Bernstein.

Danny contributed to two GRAMMY award-winning projects with The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra and the 8-Bit Big Band, and has performed on Broadway stages, dozens of studio albums, subbed with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and can be heard trumpeting on the acclaimed game Red Dead Redemption 2. His playing has also been featured on PBS, NPR, HBO, and Good Morning America. Danny has performed on distinguished stages including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Broadway’s Lyceum Theater, Birdland Jazz Club, The Blue Note NYC, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Bimhaus (Netherlands), and the North Sea Jazz Festival. A frequently traveling musician, Danny has performed in the U.K., South Korea, Israel, Germany, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Danny is originally from Los Angeles and holds a Master’s degree in composition from The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College with the support of the Sir Roland Hanna Memorial Scholarship, and was the recipient of the Boyer Alumni Award as an undergraduate from Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. His notable mentors include jazz luminaries Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, Luis Bonilla, Bruce Barth, and John Swana. He has studied composition & arranging with Michael Philip Mossman, John Clayton, Darcy James Argue, Norman David, and David Berger. His early champions were Matt Finders, David Washburn, Ira Nepus, & John Mosley.

The Danny Jonokuchi Big Band
is a bi-coastal 17-piece big band comprised of legendary jazz musicians and future jazz greats. The band has delivered sold-out performances in Los Angeles and New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, Birdland Jazz Club, Vibrato, The Django, Minton’s Playhouse, Vitello’s, Catalina Jazz Club, The Ziegfeld Ballroom, and Gotham Hall. The band exclusively performs compositions and arrangements by Danny Jonokuchi that span from nostalgic songs reminiscent of the swing era to modern pieces with weaving melodies and colorful harmony.

Their highly anticipated album - “Voices” - is out now and features 11 incredible jazz vocalists from New York City. “Voices” is a testament to the power of collaboration and creativity and has been called “an album in which every cut is prime” - Will Friedwald (The New York Sun). With “unparalleled beauty on each track” (Paris Move), from soulful ballads to upbeat swing tunes, the album has something for every jazz lover out there.

This album contains no booklet.