Travis Sullivan's Björkestra is an 18-piece, genre-bending

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 majo ...

orchestra from New York City. The band is led by alto saxophonist Travis Sullivan with arrangements by Sullivan, Kevin Schmidt, and Kelly Pratt. The Björkestra performs the music of eclectic musician

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

History

Since its debut in September 2004 at the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

in New York City, Travis Sullivan's Björkestra has performed around the country. They have been mentioned in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

Relix Magazine ''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concert ...

'', and ''

Jazz Times ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...

''. In 2007 Sullivan conducted his arrangements with the Sicilian Jazz Orchestra to a sold-out crowd at Teatro Golden in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

, Sicily. Members of Travis Sullivan's Björkestra—often referred to as The Björkestra—have performed with

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

, The Spam All Stars,

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

, and the

Saturday Night Live Band The Saturday Night Live Band (referred to in the closing credits as The Live Band) is the house band of the NBC television program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Role on ''Saturday Night Live'' The band consists of mostly jazz, R&B, an ...

. Guests have included saxophonist

Donny McCaslin Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, '' Blackstar'' (2016). Early ...

and guitarists

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator and record label owner. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel attended the Philadelphia High School for the ...

and

Ben Monder Ben Monder (born May 24, 1962) is an American modern jazz guitarist. Biography Monder started playing guitar when he was eleven, after two years on violin. From 1979–84, he attended the Westchester Conservatory of Music, the University of Miam ...

. The ensemble includes vocalist

Becca Stevens Becca Stevens (born June 14, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who draws upon elements of jazz, chamber pop, indie rock, and folk. Early life and education Stevens was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the youn ...

Members

* Travis Sullivan – alto saxophone * Eli Asher – trumpet * Ravi Best – trumpet * Kevin Bryan – trumpet * Brian Pareschi – trumpet * Alan Ferber – trombone * James Hirschfeld – trombone *

Ryan Keberle Ryan Keberle is an American trombone player, composer, arranger, and educator. Described by ''The New York Times'' as a "trombonist of vision and composure", he leads Ryan Keberle & Catharsis, his All Ears Orchestra, the Big Band Living Legacy Pro ...

– trombone * Kevin L. Schmidt – bass trombone * Sean Nowell – tenor saxophone * Steve Welsh – tenor saxophone * Lauren Sevian – baritone saxophone * David Cook – piano, keyboard *

Art Hirahara Art Hirahara (born 1971) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Life and career Hirahara started playing the piano at the age of four. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the California Institute of the Arts. While at Oberlin, ...

– piano keyboard * Yoshi Waki – double bass, bass guitar * Joe Abbatantuono – drums * Ian Cook – electronic percussion *

– vocals

Discography

* ''Enjoy!'' (Koch, 2008) * ''I Go Humble'' (Zoho, 2013)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis Sullivans Bjorkestra American jazz ensembles from New York City Tribute bands