Sound Assembly

At least three very different groups have used the name Sound Assembly. One was a U.K.-based barbershop quartet that changed its name to the BABS Champion Quartet (BABS stands for British Association of Barbershop Singers) in 1994 and included the late vocalist Bernie Cureton (who passed away in early 2009). Another was a jazz-influenced alternative rap act along the lines of <a href="spotify:artist:0gqIrDRL7CEPBWMmkuZPdQ">Digable Planets</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:09hVIj6vWgoCDtT03h8ZCa">A Tribe Called Quest</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2iclO3rlyF0YVNE46ctYRj">the Jungle Brothers</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>; that group was active in the 1990s and recorded an album titled In the Pocket, which was released on Moonshine Music in 1996. But the Sound Assembly profiled in this bio is an acoustic-oriented post-bop big band that has been active in New York City since the early 2000s.

The big band, which has also been referred to as the Schumacher/Sanford Sound Assembly, has had a 17-person lineup and is co-led by composer/arrangers <a href="spotify:artist:4gRM9Io8ubRONMDNwC3EWh">David Schumacher</a> (b. May 17, 1974) and J.C. Sanford. The long list of improvisers having contributed to Sound Assembly includes David Smith, Bud Burridge, <a href="spotify:artist:55aWJR7C910jreM55rq6Ju">John Bailey</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5E2zLo0VB2QXrcypOpPFTM">John Hines</a> on trumpet and flügelhorn; Mark Patterson, Lolly Bienenfeld, and <a href="spotify:artist:0ATzXThABOIzEFfLwPeIod">Alan Ferber</a> on trombone; Chris Olness on bass trombone; Ben Kono on tenor sax and bass clarinet; Chris Bacas on tenor sax, soprano sax, and clarinet; <a href="spotify:artist:2nqlrAtqnVFrcjCCIHfwVR">Dan Willis</a> on alto sax, soprano sax, and flute; David Riekenberg on baritone sax and bass clarinet; Eric Rasmussen on alto sax and clarinet; Andrew Green on guitar; <a href="spotify:artist:7IYOqHzSM9ibuy32c8ultS">Deanna Witkowski</a> on acoustic piano; David Ambrosio on upright bass; and <a href="spotify:artist:59tdGIxFYXNsHrRMOn2Wr8">John Hollenbeck</a> on drums.

But <a href="spotify:artist:4gRM9Io8ubRONMDNwC3EWh">Schumacher</a> and Sanford have handled Sound Assembly's conducting and arranging, and instead of emphasizing well-known jazz and Tin Pan Alley standards (which is quite common among big bands), <a href="spotify:artist:4gRM9Io8ubRONMDNwC3EWh">Schumacher</a> and Sanford have opted to spotlight their original material. Sound Assembly's arranging and bandleading influences have included, among others, <a href="spotify:artist:0NSaDbZ3bVycmiRGhVvjyX">the Gil Evans Orchestra</a>, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, <a href="spotify:artist:3u5vxm8Y5GrYlafW2F4gWx">the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1CkthcIyaPjnbHLcwhbU7c">the George Russell Orchestra</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:61bWkkCyCh1jSBmAKdC7sg">the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4HirYEf3m0K7N1bP2JWcEt">Gunther Schuller</a>, and trombonist <a href="spotify:artist:3aM9H4QBnPUo6mnNVufAtN">Bob Brookmeyer</a>'s New Art Orchestra. Chicago native <a href="spotify:artist:4gRM9Io8ubRONMDNwC3EWh">Schumacher</a> (who was a member of <a href="spotify:artist:2PjgZkwAEk7UTin4jP6HLP">Lionel Hampton</a>'s big band in the 1980s and joined <a href="spotify:artist:6u17YlWtW4oqFF5Hn9UU79">Harry Connick, Jr.</a>'s band in 1990) is a baritone saxophonist, while Sanford is a trombonist. But neither of them play any instruments on Sound Assembly's debut album, Edge of the Mind; their role on that album is strictly that of bandleaders, conductors, composers, and arrangers.

Although Sound Assembly are based in New York City, <a href="spotify:artist:4gRM9Io8ubRONMDNwC3EWh">Schumacher</a> and Sanford both studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston (which is where they met <a href="spotify:artist:1CkthcIyaPjnbHLcwhbU7c">Russell</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3aM9H4QBnPUo6mnNVufAtN">Brookmeyer</a> and learned a lot about bandleading from them). Sound Assembly were formed in 2001, and after four years of live performances, they recorded Edge of the Mind in Brooklyn in 2005; <a href="spotify:artist:4gRM9Io8ubRONMDNwC3EWh">Schumacher</a> and Sanford produced the CD with trumpeter <a href="spotify:artist:3Suh6KZUGb2LxOA0MPynZN">John McNeil</a>. Edge of the Mind went unreleased for four years, but in 2009, the album finally saw the light and day and was released on Beauport Jazz. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi