Ray Anderson

BIMWO Swing

In January 1997 the Brande International Music Workshop Orchestra (BIMWO) recorded an album of neatly arranged progressive modern European jazz at the Copenhagen Jazzhouse. Conducted by Chicago-born trombonist Ray Anderson, the octet performed six of his original compositions; "Bimwo Swing," the title track of the CD released the following year, makes an unmistakable reference to Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing." An earlier example of Anderson's neo-Monk titling occurred in 1989 as "Raven-A-Ning" on the album What Because. "Tapajack" first appeared on Right Down Your Alley in 1984; "Datune" on Blues Bred in the Bone in 1988; "Snoo Tune" on Every One of Us in 1992, and "Leo's Place" on the Big Band Record with the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band in 1994. In addition to several Danes, the multi-national group includes Netherlandish tenor saxophonist Simon Rigter, Icelandic trumpeter Veigar Margeirsson, Israeli trombonist Rafi Malkiel, and Japanese pianist Makiko Hirabayashi. Vocals are by Aviaja Lumholt, one of a select number of jazz musicians in the world who originated in Greenland.

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