The young Canadian arranger and composer Darcy James Argue lives and works in New York, where he conducts his own orchestra, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society. Argue is considered one of today’s most innovative and prominent big-band conductors, and always receives high scores in DownBeat Magazine’s Critics Poll. With a compositional language and sound that are both contemporary and highly singular, he is in great demand as a composer and he tours the entire world as a performer.
It was inevitable that Argue and BJO would cross paths. Organiser Jazz Middelheim brought the two together, producing a hugely successful world premiere in 2015.
Argue’s music is very much like film music in its mood and structure. His songs tell the stories of vulnerable and misunderstood characters like scientist Alan Turing and trumpeter Laurie Frink, as well as heartless war criminals. The concert closes with a 35-minute ‘meditation’ on the music of Duke Ellington.
“This is music that will make us sit at the edge of our seats,” said BJO leader Frank Vaganée.
Argue has made two acclaimed albums with his Secret Society, each of which has been nominated for a Grammy Award. The latest nomination, for the album Brooklyn Babylon, was shared with Brussels Jazz Orchestra (for Wild Beauty).
Darcy James Argue's Secret SocietyDarcy James Argue, Brussels Jazz Orchestra
