Joe Clark is the composer, arranger and trumpeter of Lush, his first big-band album. The band strikes a delicate balance by paying homage the classic big-band sound from the ’40s and moving forward with Clark’s modern arrangements. Clark assembled a versatile group that includes Grammy-winning drummer Jeff Hamilton. Hamilton is also the music director for Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, a renowned modern big-band. The album features eight tracks that include covers of Thelonious Monk’s “Well, You Don’t Need”, the standards “Tenderly”, “Yesterday’s Gardenias” and “Yesterday’s Gardenias,” Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” Jeff Hamilton’s “Samba de Martelo” and three Clark original compositions. All music
