Nick Finzer - The Jazz Orchestra Vol. 1

September 29, 2025

Label: Outside in Music, 2025

Personnel - Saxophones: Michael Thomas (alto); Jordan Pettay (alto); Lucas Pino (tenor); Evan Harris (tenor); Tony Lustig (baritone); Trumpets: Augie Haas, Anthony Hervey, Nadje Noordhuis, Chloe Rowlands; Trombones: Nick Finzer, Rob Edwards, James Burton III, Sara Jacovino, Altin Sencalar; Rhythm Section: Alex Wintz (guitar), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Dave Baron (bass), Jimmy Macbride (drums).

Nick Finzer is a creative trombonist and composer with refined taste and sinuous melodic instincts. Captured in a single-day session, The Jazz Orchestra Vol. 1 breathes new life into four of his most emblematic, previously recorded compositions alongside fresh reinventions of two J.J. Johnson classics. Inspired by the late trombonist and the big band legacies of Duke Ellington, Finzer assembled an 18-piece ensemble that includes his working sextet—the full rhythm section plus tenorist Lucas Pino. The album pays sincere tribute to the rich history of the jazz orchestra.

Bursting with ardent hardbop devotion, Johnson’s “Say When” thrives on Finzer’s powerful declamation, his trombone lines cutting with melodic instinct and authority. Playful horn staccatos punch through neatly arranged hooks, while a buoyant swing underpins Jordan Pettay’s spirited alto solo. Johnson first recorded this piece with his big band in 1966.

Also by Johnson, “Lament” unfolds as a lyrical, expansive ballad of epic dimension that recalls Gil Evans’ orchestral maneuvers, one of Finzer’s touchstones. Those spectacular Evans-like timbres reappear in “The Guru”, originally heard on Cast of Characters (2020). With its rhythmic and harmonic brilliance, the piece weaves a mysterious mood through probing collisions and lush tapestries, highlighted by solos from trumpeter Anthony Hervey and Finzer himself. The colorful harmonic tapestries are offered by guitarist Alex Wintz and pianist Glenn Zaleski, respectively.

Another highlight is “We The People”, the dynamic opener from Hear & Now (2017), here reimagined by Jack Courtwright, Finzer’s notable graduate student at the University of North Texas. Freedom and collective consciousness permeate the music, magnified by inventive solos from trumpeter Chloe Rowlands, Pino, Wintz, and drummer Jimmy Macbride. That conversational fluidity of the improvisers continues on the closer, “Just Passed the Horizon”, where Wintz leads into Tony Lustig’s exuberant baritone statement and an invigorating collective jam that bursts with tonal color.

The Jazz Orchestra Vol. 1 is a beautifully crafted album that brings Finzer’s A-game to the big band format. His dedication yields fresh surprises at every turn, and we never get tired of this unflagging ‘in the pocket’ drive, always carried out with a modern sensibility.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Say When ► 02 - The Guru ► 04 - We The People

Nick Finzer - Dreams, Visions, Illusions

May 8, 2023

Label: Outside in Music, 2023

Personnel - Nick Finzer: trombone; Lucas Pino: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Alex Wintz: guitar; Glenn Zaleski: piano; Dave Baron: bass; Jimmy Macbride: drums.

American trombonist Nick Finzer is known for bringing passionate lyricism and keen harmonic excursions to his compositional style. At the age of 34, he reveals an enviable musical maturity, drawing heavily from tradition but demonstrating an innate ability to modernize and engage listeners. On Dreams Visions Illusions - the result of the New Jazz Works grant and his fifth outing as a leader - he builds on the signature style of previous releases with the help of faithful collaborators who give body to his ‘Hear and Now’ sextet.

True to form, the group begins this journey by alerting against capitalism in our society with “To Dream a Bigger Dream”. Buoyantly tackling the theme, Finzer and saxophonist Lucas Pino deliver powerful statements in a luxurious post-bop setting that includes a good vamping time for drummer Jimmy Macbride to speak.

The facility in Finzer’s narrative process comes to the fore on “I Thought I Should Take the Road Less Traveled”, an affectionate and gently propulsive torch song with a triple time feel. Here, one can sense a sort of crossover appeal that brings Pat Metheny to mind. There’s also strong melody in Finzer’s phrase construction, as well as a stunning improvised delivery by guitarist Axel Wintz. A similar charm is dispensed on “Waking Up”, where bassist Dave Baron serves as the sole accompanist to Finzer’s thematic melody.

“But I Did What They Said” boasts an astounding modal theme while bearing that sort of pathos conveyed by King Crimson. Yet, the number is energized with effective solos. “Follow Your Heart” is moved by well-placed rhythmic accents, hard swinging verve and a tour de force statement by pianist Glenn Zaleski, who constructs and deconstructs as he gets adequate responses from the drummer. He’s followed by the highly articulate Wintz. Whereas the pianist stands out in the rubato ballad “Vision or Mirage?”, the guitarist participates in a dialogue with Finzer and Pino (on bass clarinet) on “Aspirations and Convictions”, whose balladic feel is slightly stirred by Macbride’s snare rudiments.

Finzer and his co-workers deliver stories seasoned and packaged with their own identity. Whether subtle or invigorated, they normally have a powerful effect on the listener.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - To Dream a Bigger Dream ► 05 - I Thought I Should Take the Road Less Traveled ► 06 - But I Did What They Said

Nick Finzer - Cast of Characters

February 27, 2020

Label: Outside in Music, 2020

Personnel - Nick Finzer: trombone; Lucas Pino: tenor sax, bass clarinet; Glenn Zaleski: piano; Alex Wintz: guitar; Dave Baron: bass; Jimmy Macbride: drums.

Besides an excellent trombonist, Nick Finzer is also a polished composer and a successful entrepreneur. His refined sense of instrumentation is all across this new recording, Cast of Characters, which focuses on the impact left by formative figures in our lives. It’s not only a tribute to mentors (including Wycliffe Gordon and Steve Turre) but also a confirmation of himself as a strong, individual voice in today’s jazz panorama.

The follow-up to the notable Hear & Now (Outside in Music, 2017) includes 14 originals with a flavor of their own and features the same reliable musicians that follow him since the beginning of his career as a leader - multireedist Lucas Pino, pianist Glenn Zaleski, guitarist Alex Wintz, bassist Dave Baron, and drummer Jimmy Macbride.

Zaleski makes an epic solo entrance on “A Sorcerer (is a Myth)”. The cinematic atmosphere is put aside in favor of a sumptuous jazz contour in five. A pedaling bass interlude based on the theme separates the brassy enunciations of Finzer from Pino’s adroit navigations over the undulating chord forms.

“Evolution of…” relies on counterpoint and a relentless piano note that breaks free and expands before segueing into “… Perspective”, its continuation. That one-note recurrence is resumed at the outset of a sonic trip where gooey unisons levitate well above the expressive chordal movements and effervescent rhythm. In contrast, compendious post-bop statements from trombone, guitar, piano and saxophone are set against a blistering, uptempo swinging motion.

“Patience…” is a solo piano introduction to “…Patience”, a ballad into which the combo brings plenty of emotion. You’ll find a beautiful harmonic sequence, temperate brushwork, a fine bass solo, and disciplined impromptu juxtapositions designed by Pino, Finzer, and Wintz.

Other pieces deserving mention are: “Brutus, The Contemporary”, a shapeshifter filled with color and excitement, even when its concentrations fall into lower registers due to the presence of a bass clarinet; the waltzing “Weatherman”, elegantly expressed at a medium-fast tempo; and “The Guru”, which spreads positive vibes through a well-mounted rhythm, sparse and clear unison phrases, and passages bristling with contrapuntal prowess. Also fun was to hear the contrast between “A Duke”, polished with an Ellingtonian penchant for tradition, and “(Take the) Fork in the Road”, which probes a looking-forward rhythm/groove.

Nick Finzer juices up modern mainstream with no excess or gimmick. Simultaneously bracing and soothing, his music is a tonic for the ears, and conveys as much honesty as charm.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - A Sorcerer (is a Myth) ► 03 - …Perspective ► 06 - …Patience

Nick Finzer - Hear & Now

January 24, 2017

Nick Finzer: trombone; Lucas Pino: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Alex Wintz: guitar; Glenn Zaleski: piano; Dave Baron: bass; Jimmy Macbride: drums.

New York award-winning composer, arranger, and trombonist Nick Finzer, will certainly delight the admirers of both traditional and modern jazz with his new release, Hear & Now, a politically-charged body of work that envisions to make us aware of the turbulent days we’re living in.
To sculpt his third recording as a bandleader and composer, Finzer, who was mentored by the great Steve Turre at Juilliard, reunites the same sextet that appears on his previous album, The Chase (Origin Records, 2014). A blow of fresh air increases the fascination of his inspired new musical creations.

The sonorous spells can be immediately felt in the opening tune, “We The People”, a stylish post-bop pleasure of rare quality and unmitigated class, whose blues connotations and arrangement bring us the best of Turre and Kenny Garrett. Its dimension is expanded with sparkling improvisations by Finzer, pianist Glenn Zaleski, and guitarist Alex Wintz, all of them mesmerizing in their gestures.
Transcendent piano chords give “The Silent One” the epithet of a prayer. Flowing with articulate musicianship, the tune presents a muscled rock guitar comping during Finzer solo, and piano harmonic conduction for Lucas Pino to demonstrate how to make a saxophone solo sound interesting.

The only cover in the recording is Duke Ellington’s lullaby-ish “Single Petal of a Rose”, an homage to Finzer’s key influence, which was melodically co-driven by Pino’s bass clarinet and bundled up in wha-wha effects.
Seated on the bass pedal of Dave Baron and the undeviating drumming of Jimmy MacBride, the clement “Again and Again” shows a perfect understanding between pianist and guitarist who succeed in the articulation of their interventions. All ends up in a dauntless horn-led collective improv.

“Racing to the Bottom”, another post-bop explosion, does what its title calls out. The fast pace allows the soloists to adventure from one extremity of the scale to the other.
Unhurried breezes show up in a quasi-sequential triple dose with the demure “New Beginnings”, a marriage between jazz and avant-pop, “Lullaby for an Old Friend”, written for a friend of the trombonist who passed away, and “Love Wins”, a dainty hymn that celebrates marriage equality.

Superbly produced by Ryan Truesdell (Gil Evans Project), Finzer’s music feels alive, flaring up with color and legitimacy within an assured direction.
Thus, after listening to Hear & Now, it’s no difficult to conclude that Finzer deserves to be known as ‘21st Century’s trombone sensation’.

Favorite Tracks:
01 – We The People ► 02 – The Silent One ► 04 – Again and Again