Darcy James Argue

Darcy James Argue
Argue at the Moers Festival, 2009
Argue at the Moers Festival, 2009
Background information
Born (1975-05-23) May 23, 1975 (age 48)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, bandleader
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active2005–present
LabelsNew Amsterdam
Websitesecretsocietymusic.org
Darcy James Argue and
the Danish Radio Big Band (2016)

Darcy James Argue is a jazz composer and bandleader known for his work with his 18-piece ensemble, Secret Society.

Biography

Argue was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1][2] He studied at McGill University in Montreal from 1993–1998, and in 2000 he moved to the U.S. to study composition at New England Conservatory of Music[3] with jazz composer Bob Brookmeyer.[4] Following his studies at New England Conservatory, Argue moved to Brooklyn in 2003.

Secret Society

In 2005, Argue founded Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, an 18-piece big band. In 2009, they released their first studio album, Infernal Machines, on New Amsterdam Records, an independent record label in New York City. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album[5] and a Juno Award nomination in Canada for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year.[6] It was recognized multiple times in the Down Beat magazine Critics' Poll[7] and included on annual lists at The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Paste, and the Ottawa Citizen.[8]

The Society's second album, Brooklyn Babylon (2013), was based on a multimedia performance created with visual artist Danijel Zezelj and premiered at the BAM Next Wave Festival in November 2011. It too received Grammy and Juno Award nominations.[9][10] It won the top positions for Arranger and Big Band in the 2013 Down Beat Critics' Poll,[11] was named Best Album of 2013 by The New Republic,[12] and was included in the Top 10 Albums of the 2013 NPR Music Jazz Critics' Poll.[13]

Their third album, Real Enemies (New Amsterdam, 2016) was commissioned by and premiered at the BAM Next Wave Festival. Like Brooklyn Babylon, it was created as part of a multimedia performance, in partnership with the writer-director Isaac Butler and the theatrical film designer Peter Nigrini.[14] It received a Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.[15]

In September 2023, the Society released their fourth album, Dynamic Maximum Tension, on Nonesuch Records.[16] It received the group's fourth Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.[17]

Commissions

Argue has received commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation, the Jazz Gallery, the Manhattan New Music Project, the Jerome Foundation, and Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as ensembles including the Danish Radio Big Band, the Hard Rubber Orchestra, the Jazz Knights, and the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from New Music USA, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the MacDowell Colony.

Awards and honors

Discography

References

  1. ^ "Darcy James Argue's Secret Society". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  2. ^ Gehr, Richard (2009-05-05). "Darcy James Argue's Metal Machine Music". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  3. ^ Leonard, Devin (2009-07-09). "The History of Jazz, by Darcy James Argue". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  4. ^ "The Perils of Empire: Steampunk Big Band" (PDF). SteamPunk Magazine. p. 65. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  5. ^ "Several Jazz Surprises In The 2011 Grammy Award Nominations". NPR. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  6. ^ "JUNO Category of Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year, 2010". Wreckhouse. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  7. ^ "DownBeat 60th Annual Critics Poll". Down Beat. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  8. ^ "Secret Society Music Albums". Secret Society. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  9. ^ "Brooklyn Babylon nominated for Grammy". Secret Society. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  10. ^ "JUNO 2014 Nominees & Winners". JUNO Awards. Archived from the original on 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  11. ^ "DownBeat Annual Critics Poll". Down Beat. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  12. ^ Hajdu, David (27 December 2013). "The Best Albums of 2013, the Year Marketing Almost Took Over Music". The New Republic. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  13. ^ "The 2013 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll". NPR. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  14. ^ "In 'Real Enemies,' Darcy James Argue Confronts A Post-Truth World". NPR. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  15. ^ "Scofield, Hersch, Mehldau Lead Jazz Grammy Noms". Down Beat. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  16. ^ "Composer Darcy James Argue's Nonesuch Debut, 'Dynamic Maximum Tension,' Out Now". Nonesuch Records. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  17. ^ "66th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Recording Academy. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  18. ^ "Darcy James Argue". Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Archived from the original on 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  19. ^ "Darcy James Argue". Fellowship Awards in the United States and Canada, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  20. ^ "Darcy James Argue | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2023.