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Join us for an electrifying evening of big band brilliance as the Stephen Philip Harvey Jazz Orchestra (SPHJO) celebrates the release of their new album, Multiversal: Live at BOP STOP. Captured live at Cleveland’s intimate and acoustically superb BOP STOP, this bold, super-powered recording “cements Harvey’s place as one of contemporary jazz’s adventurous large-ensemble voices” (Mike Gates, UK Vibe) and has been hailed as “a major triumph” (Michael van Gee, Jazz’n’More).The SPHJO is a seventeen-piece ensemble featuring a rotating roster of world-class musicians from across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Known for their bold sound and adventurous programming, the group debuted in 2022 with Smash!, a studio album released on Next Level (an imprint of Outside in Music). Drawing inspiration from comic books and superheros, Harvey’s compositions and arrangements “connect the jazz tradition with the spirit of contemporary African American music” (Michael van Gee, Jazz’n’More), fusing jazz, classical, funk, gospel, and hip-hop into a comic-book inspired aural universe.
With Multiversal, Harvey channels the spirit of America's original large ensemble—the jazz orchestra—into a vivid, pseudo-cinematic soundscape filled with drama, intensity, and imaginative storytelling. The result is a cinematic, genre-bending release that feels both expansive and immediate—“propulsive, cinematic, and melodic” at its core (Mike Gates, UK Vibe). Don’t miss this celebration of sonic world-building, brought to life by a powerhouse band on the rise.
The SPHJO:
Saxes: Bobby Selvaggio, Nathan Paul Davis, Max Schlenk, Johnny Cochran, Jr., Clint Bleil
Trumpets: JD Chaisson, Tommy Lehman, Garrett Folger, JaKobe Henry
Trombones: Zach Warren, Will Horner, Lauren Rudzinskas, Amber Forrer
Rhythm: Dan Bruce (guitar), Ian Brown (piano), Jordan McBride (bass), Dustin May (drums)
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
BLU Jazz+, 47 E Market St,Akron, Ohio, United States
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