The Microscopic Septet is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

septet A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry. ...

, founded in 1980 by saxophonist

Phillip Johnston Phillip Johnston (born January 22, 1955) is an American avant-garde saxophonist. He came to prominence in the 1980s as co-founder of The Microscopic Septet and went on to write extensively for films, particularly new scores for classic silent fi ...

.The Microscopic Septet
/ref> They played frequently in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, toured, and recorded until they disbanded in 1992. Known affectionately as "The Micros" Heather Phares of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described them as "one of the most distinctive jazz ensembles in New York during the '80s and early '90s" due to their innovative updating of classic

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

styles of the 1930s and '40s. The band reformed for a few performances in 2006 in conjunction with the reissue of their first four albums, then long out of print, by

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and electr ...

. They performed again in the United States and Europe in December 2007, and have reunited for performances in New York City almost every year since, most recently at The Kitchen in Manhattan
12/9/17
. Since reforming The Microscopic Septet have released four albums all on Cuneiform, most recently ''Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down To Me: The Micros Play The Blues''. They are known for performing the theme song for

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 6 ...

'' program, which was composed by pianist

Joel Forrester Joel Forrester (born May 2, 1946) is an American jazz composer and pianist. He composed the theme song to NPR's ''Fresh Air'', performed by The Microscopic Septet which Forrester founded in 1980 and led with saxophonist Phillip Johnston. A docum ...

Members

Discography

*''Take the Z Train'' (1983)

Press Records Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a famil ...

*''Let's Flip!'' (1985) Osmosis Records *''Off Beat Glory'' (1986) Osmosis Records *''Beauty Based on Science'' (1988)

Stash Records Stash Records was an American independent jazz record label based in New York City that flourished from 1975 through the late 1990s. Its name was drawn from the subject of its first album, ''Reefer Songs'' (1976). Bernie Brightman ''(né'' Berna ...

*''Seven Men in Neckties: The History of the Micros, Vol. 1'' (2006)

(includes ''Z Train'' and ''Let's Flip'' along with previously unreleased material) *''Surrealistic Swing: The History of the Micros, Vol. 2'' (2006)

(includes ''Off Beat Glory'' and ''Beauty Based on Science'' along with previously unreleased material) *''Lobster Leaps In'' (2008)

*''Friday the Thirteenth: The Micros Play Monk'' (2010)

*''Manhattan Moonrise'' (2014)

*''Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down To Me: The Micros Play The Blues'' (2017)

External links

Official websiteOfficial MySpace site
*https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/479371896/friday-the-13th-the-micros-play-monk-the-new-cd/description *https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/479371896/the-microscopic-septets-new-cd-manhattan-moonrise/description *https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/479371896/the-micros-play-the-blues/description

Notes and references

American jazz ensembles from New York City Experimental big bands Progressive big bands Post-bop ensembles Septets {{US-jazz-band-stub

Members

Discography

See also

External links

Notes and references