Fat Cat Big Band
The Fat Cat Big Band is a musical pride of eleven lions in their own fields, fueled by the dynamic creative leadership of guitarist, composer, and arranger Jade Synstelien.
Synstelien was born on August 17th, 1974, in Minneapolis. A musician, composer, arranger, and band leader, Jade picked up the alto sax at age eleven but traded it for a guitar at thirteen. He grew up traveling and living all over the United States, and has worked as a professional musician since the age of fifteen, he has become well-versed in all styles of musical performance. Synstelien began composing when he was 13 and by 17 was scoring music for big bands, funk and dance bands, world beat, and reggae bands, and eventually large-scale symphonic jazz works. Ready to form the band that could execute any ideas he could compose, he strove to combine tradition with innovation and offer up something that musicians and audiences would love equally.
In June of 2001 Jade moved to New York City from Taos, NM, yearning to learn from the jazz elders and living legends and to finally form this new orchestra. Mitch Borden, owner of the historic Smalls club, gave Jade the opportunity to have a place to form, rehearse, and perform with his band. The result was a steady Tuesday night gig at his new offshoot club, Fat Cat, in September 2001, originally billed as The Staring into the Sun Orchestra.
After many gigs and years of developing the band and filling it with the greatest rising talent in New York, in 2006 Synstelien renamed his orchestra The Fat Cat Big Band, which performs exclusively his original compositions and arrangements in full swinging force every Sunday evening to this day.
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January 27, 2010
Fat Cat Big Band's Face is Chartbound at JazzWeek
December 07, 2009
David Adler List's Fat Cat Big Band as Top Ensemble for 2009
September 06, 2009
B.J. Jansen Features Jade Synstelien and the Fat Cat Big Band on the...
July 17, 2009
Fat Cat Big Band to Release Third Album in Debut Trilogy in October
Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz.com
This has to be one of the best, and one of the hippest big bands out there today.
Grego Applegate Edwards
With strong writing, lush arrangements, some humor and some political venting ... Synstelien and crew definitely know how a modern, innovative big band should sound. Mike Shanley, Jazz Times
These two releases should establish Synstelien as a significant writer and the Fat Cat Big Band as one of the most refreshing groups to come along in years.
Duck Baker, All About Jazz
This performance is loose in all the right ways