Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band: What Is?

Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band: What Is?

By Jack Bowers
March 3, 2025
View read count

Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band: What Is?

Although the music of New York-based bandleader and arranger

Russ Anixter

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Russ Anixter may leave the average listener bemused and scratching his or her head, even the more perplexed among them would have to concede that Anixter has his personal North Star, and that he and the eleven-member Hippie Big Band follow it to the letter. Having grown up in San Francisco in the 1960s, Anixter was irresistibly drawn to bands such as The Grateful Dead, Santana and others who made improvisation and blues an essential part of their repertoire.

Those early influences remain strong and are readily apparent on the band's debut recording, What Is?, which encompasses heavy-duty themes by Tower of Power, Little Feat, Van Morrison, Freddie King, Gregg Allman,

Joni Mitchell

vocals
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Joni Mitchell, the aforementioned Grateful Dead, and even an excerpt from the score of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. As if to show that its allegiance extends beyond the sphere of rock and blues, the band closes with the main theme from the television series "The Green Hornet," written by the celebrated jazz composer

Billy May

composer / conductor
1916 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy May.

The brass-laden band is well-suited to Anixter's impactful charts, whose emphasis is on back-beat-heavy rhythms and muscular ensemble work. And while improvisation is employed on most numbers, it is generally acceptable but no more than that, even as it pertains to the ensemble's guest artists, slide trumpeter

Steven Bernstein

trumpet
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Steven Bernstein and guitarist

Oz Noy

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Oz Noy. But as it was with Anixter's role models from the 60s, ad-libbing is not the main point but more a peripheral imperative to broaden the music's appeal.

While many if not all of the songs on What Is? may be familiar to fans of '60s rock and blues, Anixter has dressed them up nicely to suit a contemporary jazz format, which some may find pleasing, others less so. In either case, Anixter and the Hippie Big Band have achieved their purpose. It is up to the listener to decide whether the outcome is admirable, tiresome or somewhere in between.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

What Is Hip?; Dixie Chicken; Free Man in Paris/Freedom Jazz Dance; She Said, She Said; Heaven on Their Minds; Saint Stephen/Turn on Your Love Light; Uncle John��s Band; Hide Away; Into the Mystic; Whipping Post; Green Hornet.

Personnel

Russ Anixter

composer / conductor

Matt Hong

saxophone, baritone

Stan Harrison

saxophone

Frank Vacin

woodwinds

Audrey Flores

french horn

Dan Levine

trombone

Jack Schatz

trombone

Bill Hayes

vibraphone

Michael Aarons

guitar

Steve Count

bass

Scott Neumann

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Matt Owens: trumpet.

Album information

Title: What Is? | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Away Towards the Light
< Previous

Nanami Haruta, Monika Ryan, Rachel E...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.