Tim Hagans is one of the few musicians to have played with both Stan Kenton and Woody Herman (in the 1970s), and big band music is in his blood – his association with the Norrbotten Big Band, where he was artistic director and composer in residence between 1996 and 2010, saw him pick-up up a Grammy nomination for The Avatar Sessions: The Music of Tim Hagans. He also formed a close working relationship with the late Bob Belden, appearing on some of Belden's finest work including Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting and Black Dahlia. Hagans’ two decade association with the NDR Big Band sees the realisation of a five movement suite, where he reassembles the band in four sections decided by the sonic qualities of their instruments rather than the traditional trumpet, trombone, saxes, choirs. Within this context he writes with the flexibility of a small band, and each of the five ‘Movements’ reveal tempo changes, in and out of free playing associated with small groups as well as driving, bright tempo interludes associated with traditional big band fare. The concept is original, and as ever with the NDR Big Band, there are no shortage of able soloists to bring alive the complexities of Hagans’ compositions and arrangements.