Orange Then Blue

What began as a modest large ensemble based in Boston and devoted to fresh interpretations of pieces by Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk soon expanded dramatically. Directed by drummer George Schuller, the son of the celebrated Gunther Schuller, OTB gradually came to embody the downtown New York milieu. The band kept presenting daring arrangements of established jazz works while folding in a wealth of original material contributed by its shifting personnel, a roster that featured Andy Laster, Matt Darriau, Dave Ballou, Chris Speed, Dave Douglas, and Andrew D'Angelo. Traditional melodies and rhythms drawn from Africa, Brazil, and the Balkan countries were likewise absorbed into the book, generating singular improvisational possibilities and a boundary-pushing world-music posture that no other group duplicated. The name OTB itself derives from the Mingus evergreen “Orange (Was the Color of Her Dress), Then (Silk) Blue.”