Wander

2016 release. Adam Meckler is a trumpeter and composer living in Minneapolis. His 18-piece big band The Adam Meckler Orchestra has become one of the most exciting bands on the scene. The AMO's 2014 album When the Clouds Look Like This was listed among 2014's Best Jazz Releases on iTunes. Meckler has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe with Youngblood Brass Band and Todd Clouser's A Love Electric, and continues to play regularly with a host of bands around the Twin Cities including Nooky Jones, Jana Nyberg Group, Graydon Peterson Quartet and Pete Whitman's X-Tet. Meckler is known for his penchant for melody, and the nine compositions featured on Wander are certainly no exception. Melodic doesn't mean simple or bland. Meckler's compositions range from aesthetically pleasing to fierce and aggressive, with influences from R&B, pop and indie rock. The grooves on the album will keep toes tapping, but the beat isn't always easy to find. Compositions that feel great but are slightly off-kilter are commonplace in Meckler's catalogue. The compositions on Wander are realized by a handful of prominent musicians from the Twin Cities, tenor saxophonists Nelson Devereaux and Joe Mayo, guitarist Zacc Harris, bassist Graydon Peterson, and drummer Greg Schutte.