The Amazing Keystone Big Band

Founded in 2010, The Amazing Keystone Big Band brings together in France a 17‑piece orchestra led by pianist Fred Nardin, saxophonist Jon Boutellier, trombonist Bastien Ballaz and trumpeter David Enhco, who studied together at the conservatory. The Amazing Keystone Big Band is rooted in the grand jazz‑orchestra tradition while developing a contemporary compositional approach nourished by swing, the colors of hard bop and arranging work that circulates standards, reworkings of repertoire and original compositions. The project engages with the legacy of Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Thad Jones without limiting itself to a purely heritage‑based approach, giving central importance to sections, soloists and collective forms. Over the course of its career The Amazing Keystone Big Band has also collaborated with musicians and singers from diverse backgrounds, including Quincy Jones, Rhoda Scott, Didier Lockwood, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Ibrahim Maalouf. In 2018 The Amazing Keystone Big Band received the Victoire du Jazz award for Group of the Year.