Steven Feifke (pianist, composer, arranger/orchestator, and conductor) and Bijon Watson (lead trumpet) have joined forces to bring together a big band featuring some of the most well-known names in all of jazz, including Kurt Elling, Sean Jones, John Fedchock, and more.

The co-leaders are both “frequent-flyer-mile” performers in a number of internationally acclaimed large ensembles, and they noticed one small problem in each one: there is almost no generation gap. The longstanding tradition (spearheaded by artists like Art Blakey and Horace Silver) of hiring the “young guns” for an ensemble has all but disappeared in recent years.

With more than two decades between them, Steven and Bijon make the objective of the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra to strengthen the tradition of mentorship that has shaped and defined the jazz idiom since its earliest beginnings.