DJ Hairy Larry Presents The C3 Big Band Playing A Michael Medrick Composition
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2026-07-05
C3 Big Band Trombone Section with Michael Medrick On The Left
Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear an original jazz song written by one of my professors.
I met Michael Medrick a few times before he started teaching at ASU where he ended up as the Director Of Jazz Studies before he retired. He plays trombone like nobody’s business but his real calling is composing and arranging for big bands.
Now a big band can have 25 or more musicians so writing all those notes is a lot of work. I know, I’ve done a few big band charts and the experience convinced me to write for octets.
But there are sounds that a big band can produce that smaller bands can’t, and that’s where composers like Michael Medrick hang their hat.
Now before Medrick came to ASU he was in Dallas where he played in and wrote for the C3 Big Band. On their website it says, “The goal of the C3 Big Band is to bring Dallas/Fort Worth audiences NEW music by current composers.”
On their album, “Straight Eighths” Medrick wrote four of the songs. I picked “Flor De Okra” to play for you today. He has the first solo so you’ll get to hear him play trombone.
In an email interview he said “The tune was composed after some deep listening to Pancho Sanchez’s “La Familia”, The Jazz Crusaders “Chili con Soul” and The Willie Martinez Jazz Sextet. Wayne Henderson of the Crusaders has been very influential on my sound as a trombonist.”
So now you know where he’s coming from, how about that song title?
He wrote, “That title came from a plant flowering in the garden outside my home office window.” … “Inspiration can be all around us.”
When I took Jazz Improv from Dr. Patty in the eighties our textbook was “Improvising Jazz” by Jerry Coker. While taking jazz arranging lessons from Michael Medrick I learned that Jerry Coker was one of his teachers. Just sayin’… somehow I always luck out.
So now, featuring Michael Medrick on trombone, here’s the C3 Big Band playing one of his compositions, “Flor De Okra”.
DJ Hairy Larry Presents The C3 Big Band Playing A Michael Medrick Composition
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2026-07-05
sblink
Something Blue Archives – List Of Concerts
archive.org/details/somethingbluearchives?sort=-publicdate
C3 Big Band
c3compositions.com/c3-big-band
music
And that’s the C3 Big Band playing a Michael Medrick composition, “Flor De Okra”, from their album, “Straight Eighths”. Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00, to hear Geof Bradfield, No Wind & No Rain, Atlantic Road Trip, and Neal Alger.
C3 Big Band – Straight Eighths
DJ Hairy Larry With C3 Big Band Playing Flor De Okra
Something Blue – Abundance – 29 second spot
Chicago Soul Jazz Collective – No Wind & No Rain
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Neal Alger, Chicago Soul Jazz Collective, Geof Bradfield, and Atlantic Road Trip. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at kasu.org.
Geof Bradfield – Colossal Abundance
Now Playing On Something Blue – King
RSS 