The Interplay Jazz Orchestra's On the Sunny Side

I don't know how it is where you live, but I'm getting tired of all this rain. For the first time ever, I've just received a text from the Emergency Broadcasting System warning me of flash flooding in my area--an area that isn't known for flooding. Luckily, I have some big band jazz here that's perfect for an early summer day where the weather is more conducive to building arks than playing in the sun. The Interplay Jazz Orchestra, based in Long Island, has just released their third album, On the Sunny Side, and as you can imagine it's chock-full of songs that are mostly cheerful and celebratory. It's an optimistic album, obviously, but since it features some of the most in-demand jazz musicians in New York, it swings like nobody's business.

That's important for someone like me, a sometimes sad-sack who often wants to wallow in the saddest music in the world in order to unlock the lost keys to happiness. If you're going to be happy all over the place, you better have some attitude and swagger spilling all over everything. That means you need talent, which is the whole reason for the Interplay Jazz Orchestra to exist. The talent here is overflowing, forgive the rainy day pun. While the focus on this album is lively, upbeat tunes such as The Carpenter's "Sing" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street," it's also a showcase for compositions from the band--trombonist Joey Devassy, trumpeters Gary Henderson and Damien Pacheco and sax player Chris Scarnato have all arranged some of the classics here. On the Sunny Side is even recorded in Long Island, just barely so, at the famous Bunker Studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

IJO is a big band, but it's also unusually tight and focused. A lot of that comes from the energetic arrangements that focus on a more happy mood I suppose--loose might sound like morose in the world of big band jazz. Plus it's hard to sound lugubrious with an ensemble that's so heavy on horns--six on various saxes, four on trombones and four on trumpets. Fortunately this is not a one-note performance, so to speak, and the band isn't just trying to cheer us all up. There are thoughtful moments, usually focused around Jay Orig's interludes on piano, and some of the songs are designed to show the other side of happiness such as Devassy's "Broken" and the album's closer, Henderson's "Lights Down Low."

That's okay, because even at my most manic I could never suffer through more than ten minutes of happy-slappy music at a clip. On the Sunny Side appears to abide by the old adage that you'll never appreciate the good times unless you've had some bad ones along the way. I'm thankful for that, and that's what makes this album a pleasure instead of an "Up with People" marathon. Happiness is rare, but it is deserved by everyone--even when those flood waters are rising and speeding past your window.