The Final Winner From Each Category
Will Be Featured On
The Next Big Phat Band Record!
Hello Big Phat Jam Participants!

I want to thank all of you for participating in our first Big Phat Jam. The response to this contest exceeded our expectations, and we hope you guys enjoyed the process of recording your own solos, and checking out all the other submissions from throughout the country. For me, it was fun to check out all the talent out there, and it's great to know I have some future Phat Band members out there after I fire those bums currently in the band. (Kidding. Or was I?)

Wayne Bergeron, Eric Marienthal, Sal Lozano, Grant Geissman and I have carefully scrutinized the finalists in each category. I have to tell you, these decisions were hard! The talented musicians and singers we have selected will be featured in a special section of our upcoming DVD. Congratulations to the winners and thanks again to all of you for participating and for helping to advance the art of big band jazz.

And now, scroll down to see the winners of the Big Phat Jam!

Gordon Goodwin

P.S. Please check back in a couple weeks to see photos and bios of all the Big Phat Jam winners, plus information on upcoming Big Phat Band events, contests, and albums!
Finalist
Adam Rapa
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
1229 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Adam starts off with confidence, and before too long shows his impressive range and technique. I wish the solo was mixed a little louder, and maybe miced a little closer because I think it would have had a greater impact, because it's a pretty burning solo! It's a good combination of licks and emotion, and my only other quibble is that is sounds a bit polite (maybe due to the mix) and it peaks a bit early. But great job, nonetheless. (enlarge penis)
Wayne Bergeron: This is a strong well-constructed solo showing off Adam's abilities on the horn. His great style and sense of rhythm are strong throughout. Unfortunately the recording quality does not do your sound justice. It could be hotter in the mix and more full bodied. I've heard you live so I know what a great sound you have. I like this solo because it has a lot of peaks and valleys and dynamic contrast. This keeps the listener interested in what's coming next. The solo does peak a bit early (IMO) but how the heck do you follow a double D like that. Fantastic playing!
Week 1 Finalist
Vitaly Vladimirov
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  • Current rating
611 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Vitaly plays a sprightly trombone solo with very good technique, and he actually gets better and better as the solo progresses. It seems like his ideas and his time improve as the solo moves along, and he hits a nice high F at the end of the solo. He shows a good ability to play the changes too. Nice job!
Wayne Bergeron:Vitaly has good command of the horn and pretty strong harmonic concept. This solo builds nicely seems to get into the groove of the time as it progresses. The high F at the end shows he has some chops as well.
Week 2 Finalist
BarryD
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  • Current rating
404 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Barry's trombone solo has some interesting angles and he makes his way through the changes nicely. He does fall into a pattern of playing the same rhythms a bit too much, (those offbeat patterns he does here) and I would suggest that he take his time a little more, and bring a little more emotion when soloing over this kind of music.
Wayne Bergeron:Barry has a nice tone and works his way through the changes with confidence. This solo is good but doesn't move me musically. It's OK to leave some space between riffs and vary your dynamic contrast to keep the listener interested.
Week 3 Finalist
Bugsprayer
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
453 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:This trumpet player has very good technique - you can hear him play fast run over the groove, something you hear Arturo Sandoval do. He also displays an impressive range, which definitely comes in handy on a tune like this? But I would like to hear him dig in and play better time, in contrast to all those fast licks. Also, there is way too much reverb on his solo, which keeps it from fitting into the track as well as it could.
Wayne Bergeron:Bugsprayer displays good technique nice command of the horn. (I wish I had your fingers) There are some impressive moments in this solo but I feel it starts with too much to soon. I would have liked to hear fewer notes and more digging in on the style and groove of the tune. There is also way too much reverb that distracts from your already nice sound. (erect penis)
Week 4 Finalist
Ed Sherry3/27
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
487 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Ed starts his trumpet solo with lots of attitude, a good thing. He shows a fairly advanced harmonic concept, and digs in for some exciting high notes as well. I had an issue with the pacing of the solo, which seems to lose some steam during the bridge. On tunes like this, you gotta be able to smoke on both the vamp and also where the chords get more involved. Good job.
Wayne Bergeron:I like the way Ed starts the solo, not to busy and with a lot of sass. That gets the listeners attention without saying "hey, look what I can do." I do feel your time feel wanders a bit. It's always nice to hear soloist dig in on the time. You lost some juice on the bridge where it really needs to start building energy. However your last 8 bars are fantastic.
Week 5 Finalist
Jim_L Flugel
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  • Current rating
408 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:This is a kind of curious choice, to play a flugelhorn solo on this track, where the energy is so high. Jim has a good basic sound and technique, and I can hear that he is going for using melodic fragments to construct his solo, which is great. Never play anything you can't sing! But he struggles to match the energy of this groove, which is why you don't hear flugelhorn solos on a tune like this too often.
Wayne Bergeron: You have a nice dark flugel sound but I don't think flugel is the right choice for a high energy Latin groove. Jim plays some nice licks but I feel a tune like this needs a more energetic approach with some Latin flair. The solo has nice moments but doesn't get the listeners attention.
Week 6 Finalist
Jeff_Zias_Flugel
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  • Current rating
368 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Another flugel solo! Maybe we're setting a new trend. Jeff has some good beboppish licks that he uses to good effect, and he does a nice job getting through the bridge and managing those changes. But folks, this instrument just doesn't quite cut enough to fit over this track, in my opinion.
Wayne Bergeron: Even though I don't think flugelhorn is the right call for this tune your solo is well constructed. Your melodic concept is strong but I feel the time is not in the pocket (at times) Overall a well-paced ride.
Week 7 Finalist
Augie Haas
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  • Current rating
1227 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Augie has a nice clear sound, good pitch and a nice range. His sense of time is pretty good, with a few exceptions where he rushes a bit. He gets cranking pretty good on the bridge (except for the 8th bar where his note choice clashes with the chord) and he works nicely into the last vamp, where he gets some very exciting high stuff going -but I would have played that last high D only one time, not repeat it like he did. Less is more sometimes. Nice job here.
Wayne Bergeron: Obviously Augue is a solid player with a nice sizzling sound and good facility. Your opening statements fall a bit short rhythmically but the first "A" section of the tune is great. You lose some steam as the bridge progresses. It really needs to start building at that point. The lick you play on the bar 8 of the bridge should be up a step to work with the changes. The double Ds at the end are great but a little to soon IMO. Could I borrow that note from you sometime :)? (penis enhancement)
Week 7 Finalist
B.Lebowski
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
4113 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:This trumpet solo shows good technique, sound, range and pitch. And his time seems to lock in more as the solo progresses. But a couple of times I felt that he was missing the real "money notes" on these chord changes, and the whole thing feels a little:safe. Also, I can hear the punch ins during the bridge -once again, I don't have an objection to punching in on a solo, but we should never be aware of it as a listener. It should appear as if you played the solo live with the band, that's the goal.
Wayne Bergeron: This solo starts with fire but takes a while to lock into the time. Nice blowing on the bridge but it sounds very pieced together. When constructing an overdub solo try to play off your previous lick so it doesn't sound disjointed. Your last 8 bars are great!
Week 8 Finalist
Adam Rapa
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
1229 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Adam starts off with confidence, and before too long shows his impressive range and technique. I wish the solo was mixed a little louder, and maybe miced a little closer because I think it would have had a greater impact, because it's a pretty burning solo! It's a good combination of licks and emotion, and my only other quibble is that is sounds a bit polite (maybe due to the mix) and it peaks a bit early. But great job, nonetheless.
Wayne Bergeron: This is a strong well-constructed solo showing off Adam's abilities on the horn. His great style and sense of rhythm are strong throughout. Unfortunately the recording quality does not do your sound justice. It could be hotter in the mix and more full bodied. I've heard you live so I know what a great sound you have. I like this solo because it has a lot of peaks and valleys and dynamic contrast. This keeps the listener interested in what's coming next. The solo does peak a bit early (IMO) but how the heck do you follow a double D like that. Fantastic playing! (long penis)
Finalist
Denson Angulo BASS
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
634 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Denson clearly has game, that's obvious from the very beginning. I dig how he plays interesting melodic stuff in the first chorus, showing a deep understanding of the changes, and in the 2nd chorus, it's funkalicous, baby! The pocket is there, always, which is of paramount importance on this track. This dude is bad. You know, what I mean, when bad means good!
Grant Geissman: This guy is funky! A very cool bass solo, playing on ALL of the changes! Great single note lines, great slapping, a great pocket. You worked it out, Dawg!
Week 1 Finalist
Nathan
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
268 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Nathan has a good sound, and plays with good time, but dude, don't try to fake it though those changes on the bridge! I heard several major 7ths over those dominat 7th chords. I love the way the solo ended though! Thanks, Nathan.
Grant Geissman: A nice little bite on the guitar sound that works well for this track! It sounds like you are faking it through the harder changes, especially in the bridge. Also Nathan, you are not really swinging as hard as the band is here; a little too "sing-songy" and not jazzy enough in feel.
Week 2 Finalist
Mark Galliher
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
299 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:This guy gets down and slaps it! Very impressive technique and funkiness going on here. His pocket was happening! Great job!
Grant Geissman: Very funky! Be careful not to rush, though; you are a little ahead of the time sometimes!
Week 3 Finalist
Chris Montgomery
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
383 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Chris' solo has some great stuff in it, but I have to say, I wish it was mixed a little louder. And if I had to venture a guess, I'm betting he likes it a little understated -his touch and feel is light and subtle. Which is cool, but for this instance, it doesn't quite match the energy of the track. Once again, check out how he ends the solo -very cool!
Grant Geissman: Chris, I agree with Gordon here: you have a very nice sound, but with a very light touch that isn't quite agressive enough on top of the band.
Week 3 Finalist
Bugsprayer
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
386 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:That's a cool idea to use a Methany -Lyle kind of patch on this tune. I'm not 100% sure it completely fits the vibe of the track, especially with all the verb on the sound, but I enjoyed hearing it nonetheless. His ideas are interesting, especially during the bridge of the song, and his time is very good too. Nice that he book-ended the solo with the figure that the band plays.
Grant Geissman: An interesting concept to use the guitar synth, but (like Gordon) I'm not quite sure it works in a big band setting. Nice ideas, though!
Week 4 Finalist
Jeff Castanon
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
239 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Dig that first chord! As the solo progressed I felt that Jeff's time was slightly ahead of the groove, but I totally dig that he played along with the band background for a minute. It did seem that he was guessing a little on some of the changes, but his instincts got his through okay. Nice job
Grant Geissman: Some nice licks here, especially at the end of the bridge into the end of the solo!
Week 5 Finalist
Chris W
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
936 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Chris plays a nice, if rather understated solo here. Guitar in a big band can be tough, because while a Joe Pass-like sound works great in a trio, it has some difficulty cutting through over a big band. I wish Chris would have built his solo more, especially as we propell to the end of the chorus. But he is a solid player and is on his way.
Grant Geissman: A beautiful, round sound. Very nice lines with some cool little bursts of ideas, but for me the solo doesn't really have a build from start to finish.
Week 6 Finalist
Guitarlancer
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
242 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Some interesting stuff here, but I had some problems with the intonation and with the feel, which pushed ahead of the time fairly often. Plus I could hear the punch in near the beginning -which is a bozo-no-no! I don't really mind punching in on your solo, but we should never be aware of it. In other news, he does show an understanding of the changes here and constructs his solo motivically, which I dig.
Grant Geissman: I hate to say it, Dawg, but you don't seem to be sure about the chord structure you are improvising over, so some of the notes aren't quite making it. Not enough real swing to your feel either. If I had to guess, I would say that you are more of a blues-not jazz-player.
Week 7 Finalist
Dave King
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
3963 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Dave starts his solo nice and slow, with good use of space, which is always a good idea. But I am hearing some guessing about some of the changes. Not a lot, but:once in a while there's a note or two that don't: quite: fit. And I would like to hear the solo build more gradually as it goes, so that by the end we are digging in a little more. I did like your "Pink Panther" quote at the end -it made me laugh!
Grant Geissman: Nice guitar sound and nice use of space. Your choice of notes don't always work with the chord changes you are playing over, though.
Week 7 Finalist
John Monllos
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
417 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:John gets off some cool licks in this solo -especially those fast ones that kind of float over the groove, But when he plays 8th notes he tends to rush the time a little. John's sound is nice and cool, and fits the vibe pretty well, but when the time rushes: not cool.
Grant Geissman: There's some very nice fast licks in this solo, but the slower ideas don't feel totally locked with the time. Also, there seems to be a kind of doubling effect that I find to be a bit distracting.
Week 8 Finalist
Denson Angulo BASS
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
634 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Denson clearly has game, that's obvious from the very beginning. I dig how he plays interesting melodic stuff in the first chorus, showing a deep understanding of the changes, and in the 2nd chorus, it's funkalicous, baby! The pocket is there, always, which is of paramount importance on this track. This dude is bad. You know, what I mean, when bad means good!
Grant Geissman: This guy is funky! A very cool bass solo, playing on ALL of the changes! Great single note lines, great slapping, a great pocket. You worked it out, Dawg!
Finalist
Angie O
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
1278 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Right off the bat Angie shows she knows how to swing, as she sings those lines with the band perfectly. She is confident, has a great range, and her pitch and style is right on the money. Even though she is singing some of Dianne Reeves licks here, she makes them her own. Awesome!
Week 1 Finalist
Patti H
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
338 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Patti does a nice job, with a rather sweet vocal sound, but I'm not sure it quite serves this song, which wants a little more attitude and sass. I bet she sounds better on material of a softer nature, and on this track, she is not helped by the reverb choice on her vocal track, which adds an unpleasant sizzle to her voice, accentuating her "s's."
Week 2 Finalist
Angie O
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
1278 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Right off the bat Angie shows she knows how to swing, as she sings those lines with the band perfectly. She is confident, has a great range, and her pitch and style is right on the money. Even though she is singing some of Dianne Reeves licks here, she makes them her own. Awesome!
Week 3 Finalist
Becca
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
1159 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Becca takes a different approach to the first verse -nice and smooth and I dig how she builds her vocal performance along with the chart. She has very nice pitch and note accuracy. But I would like to hear her develop a little stronger sense of swing -her phrasing gets a little stilted, especially on 8th note licks. But her performance showed a lot of range and dynamics -nice job!
Week 4 Finalist
Liz Johnson
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
522 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Liz has a nice sound and good pitch, and has a good feel for this song and arrangement. She did miss a few notes here and there, and gets slightly ahead of the track in a few spots, like on the scat lick with the band in the middle. But she does a good job up injecting her personality into her performance.
Week 4 Finalist
LWeatherly
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
144 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:This performance is a little unusual -she has a certain spirit going on, and she has a good vocal range and her pitch is good -I'm a stickler for that! But she needs to listen to Ella and Sarah and Patti Austin and Dianne Reeves to get a handle on singing with a swing feel. Plus she has a quirky way of pronouncing her consonants that proves to be distracting. A good vocal coach could easily correct those habits.
Week 5 Finalist
Valeria
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
497 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Valeria has a very nice dark sound to her voice, and it sits very well in the opening verse of this song. But as she sings higher and sustains her notes, the vibrato she uses sounds out of the style to me. I do like some of the alterations to the melody that she does as the song progresses. Once again, here is a vocalist that could benefit from listening to Ella to really get that swing feel happening.
Week 6 Finalist
Julie Silvera
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
764 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Julie nails the opening lick in the intro, and has a very alluring take on the first vocal, with a lot of personality. Tons of it, actually! Julie has a good sound with good intonation but I suspect she is using her strong personality to cover for some musical shortcomings - like the licks she does in the 2nd verse that clash with the changes. Licks that sound okay in R&B music don't always fly on a song like this. When she combines some more advanced harmonic knowledge with that awesome sassy spirit she has, she'll be happening!
Week 7 Finalist
Emily Goo
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
4368 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Emily shows a good vocal range in her performance and good basic intonation and vocal sound. But unfortunately there is little evidence that she has an understanding of singing jazz. Her phrasing is often a little stiff, and lacks the forward motion that the best jazz singers show. It sounds like her vibrato is all up in her head, as opposed to coming from the chest, and I hear some quirky pronunciations with some of her consonants. A good vocal coach can help Emily correct these things, and, sorry if I sound like a broken record: listen to Ella, Sarah, Patti Austin, Dianne Reeves -that's the secret to singing in this style!
Week 7 Finalist
NicoleSasser.com
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
1802 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:Nicole has a clear and pleasant sounding voice. Her intonation is good for the most part, although you can hear a note or two where she misses the target. My biggest issue with her is regarding her phrasing, in particular her sense of rhythm. Her phrases sound stiff over the swing feel in the track, and, like several others in this contest, she could greatly benefit by studying the great jazz singers of the past and present. The jazz feel needs to absorbed, which happens by listening and imitating. Actually, I don't think Nicole is very far away from getting this, and it is the final piece of the puzzle to make her a very good vocalist.
Week 8 Finalist
chixingermama
Click to Vote: 
  • Current rating
606 votes
Judges Comments:
Gordon Goodwin:I like how this vocal starts the first verse -nice and crisp rhythmically! She quickly proves that this is no fluke, because she turns in strong performance throughout-good pitch, nice interpretation of the lyric and above all -a good jazz feel! She really has the range to cover this arrangement -it covers nearly two octaves! My personal taste is for a little less vibrato, but it is by no means inappropriate for this style, and by any measure, she pretty much owns this tune!

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