The Blue Wisp Big Band

In the 1980s, the Blue Wisp Big Band was certainly one of the top jazz orchestras active in Cincinnati. The hard bop-oriented big band recorded four albums for the Mopro label; all of the music was reissued in the mid-'90s on two SeaBreeze CDs and one of the sets was recorded in Los Angeles during a West Coast tour. Among the group's more notable members were trumpeter Tim Hagans, bassist Lynn Seaton, and leader/drummer John Von Ohlen. The big band has continued to perform at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club in Cincinnati on Wednesday nights since forming in 1980. ~ Scott Yanow