Darcy James Argue

Darcy James Argue (* May 23, 1975 in Vancouver ) is a Canadian jazz pianist, composer, arranger and big band leader.

Life and work

Darcy James Argue began his career musician in the jazz scene of Montreal and came to the United States in 2000 to study composition at the New England Conservatory; where he took lessons with Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider and also at John Hollenbeck. 2003 Argue moved to New York in 2005, he founded the 18-member big band Darcy James Argue 's Secret Society. The band name borrowed Argue the Alan Moore comic book The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen The soloists include the big band Ingrid Jensen, Erica von Kleist and Ryan Keberle. 2009 the debut album of big band, Infernal Machines, on the New York independent label, New Amsterdam Records; the title refers to a saying of John Philip Sousa to the radio.

2006 Argue headed the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra under the Jazz.cologne festivals; In early 2008 the Canadian offshoot of his band, Secret Society North, for performances in Montreal and Toronto. He is also a founding member of the New York composer Association pulses, organized the projects with soloists such as John Abercrombie, John McNeil and Pete McCann. His composition The Golden Age was first performed and recorded by the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra (Los Angeles ). In 2010 he received a commission of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Composer Mentorship Program ( Dean St. ). He also wrote the string quartet Body Double and arranged for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Lizz Wright, Shelby Lynne, and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. In 2011, he led the Multimedia Project Brooklyn Babylon. Argue lives in Brooklyn.

Appreciation

In 2009 he was awarded the Downbeat Critics' Award for Best Newcomer, both as a composer and as a band leader. A number of critics compares Argue with a number of composers, bandleaders such as Gil Evans, Maria Schneider, John Hollenbeck, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Carla Bley and Bob Brookmeyer. 2011 Infernal Machines was nominated as Best Album of a Jazz Great ensemble for the Grammy.