This four-movement jazz suite is a tribute to Gennett Records, of Richmond, Indiana, and the jazz greats that recorded there in the 1920s: King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Hoagy Carmichael, Bix Beiderbecke, and Louis Armstrong.
The suite was inspired by such jazz classics as “Tin Roof Blues,” “Chimes Blues,” “Davenport Blues,” “Stardust,” “Riverboat Shuffle,” “King Porter Stomp,” and more. Wallarab’s composition takes these songs, expands them to a 17-piece jazz orchestra, and gives them a fresh, modern twist while remaining true to their original nature.
The Buselli/Wallarab Jazz Orchestra recorded The Gennett Suite in Bloomington, IN, in August of 2022. Noted jazz historians John Hasse and David Brent Johnson provided the liner notes.