By Coral Gables Gazette staff
When the Frost Studio Jazz Band takes the stage at Gusman Concert Hall on Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m., audiences will hear a sound both steeped in tradition and brimming with possibility. The ensemble welcomes Darcy James Argue, one of the most acclaimed big-band composers of his generation, for a program that showcases the ongoing vitality of large-ensemble jazz.
Argue, a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow and composer-in-residence with Germany’s HR Big Band, has spent nearly two decades redefining what a big band can be. Best known as the founder and leader of Secret Society, his 18-piece ensemble that has drawn praise from The New York Times as “renowned in the jazz world,” Argue combines the vocabulary of Duke Ellington and Gil Evans with the pulse and atmosphere of 21st-century music.
A visionary in residence
Now celebrating the 20th anniversary of Secret Society, Argue continues to blur lines between composition, narrative, and cultural commentary. His most recent recording, Dynamic Maximum Tension — released by Nonesuch Records and inspired by futurist R. Buckminster Fuller’s concept of “Dymaxion” design — was named one of the best albums of 2023 by DownBeat and NPR. Critics hailed it as “a work of stunning eclecticism and complexity, but thoroughly accessible” (Slate) and “simply some of the most exciting music being made right now” (Stereogum). The album also earned Argue his fourth consecutive GRAMMY nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
Argue’s broad perspective is reflected in a resume that bridges concert music, multimedia, and social themes. His 2015 collaboration Real Enemies — created with writer-director Isaac Butler and filmmaker Peter Nigrini — transformed political paranoia and conspiracy culture into a jazz-infused multimedia experience. Earlier, his song cycle Ogresse, written with Cécile McLorin Salvant, was hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “stunningly original,” weaving mythology and identity into contemporary orchestration.
Frost’s jazz lineage continues
At the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Argue joins forces with two of the school’s cornerstone ensembles: the Frost Studio Jazz Band, directed by Etienne Charles, and the Horace Silver Ensemble, directed by Jacob Batchelder. Both groups are known for their technical command and interpretive freedom, qualities that align naturally with Argue’s genre-crossing sensibility.
Gusman Concert Hall, long regarded as one of Coral Gables’ finest performance spaces, provides the setting for this high-voltage collaboration. The evening’s program brings together students and faculty in an exploration of Argue’s distinctive harmonic palette — complex yet lyrical, forward-looking yet grounded in swing. Tickets range from $10 to $20, and the event begins at 7:30 p.m. at 1314 Miller Drive.
For those familiar with Frost’s annual jazz calendar, this concert stands out as part of the school’s commitment to bringing internationally recognized artists into direct mentorship with students. Argue’s presence follows a series of recent residencies that have included Etienne Charles, Maria Schneider, and Brian Lynch — each reinforcing the program’s growing national stature.
The art of large-ensemble storytelling
Argue’s appeal lies not only in his craftsmanship but in his ability to make the big band feel newly relevant. His orchestrations use brass and woodwinds as shifting textures — cinematic rather than nostalgic — and his compositions often carry social and emotional subtext. That approach has earned him commissions from institutions such as the MAP Fund, the Fromm Music Foundation, the Newport Festival Foundation, and the Jazz Gallery, as well as collaborations with Europe’s top ensembles, including the Metropole Orkest, the NDR Big Band, and the Danish Radio Big Band.
He has also been honored with a Doris Duke Artist Award, a Latin GRAMMY, and top rankings for Composer, Arranger, and Big Band of the Year in the DownBeat International Critics Poll. Yet despite the accolades, Argue’s music resists classification. Pitchfork called him “a syncretic creator who avoids obvious imitation,” while The New Yorker praised his “innovative, outwardly anachronistic ensemble brought fully into the 21st century.”
A moment of synthesis
Thursday’s concert offers Frost audiences a rare opportunity to hear Argue’s work in a setting that emphasizes both mentorship and experimentation. Students will perform side by side with the composer, interpreting scores that balance structural precision with improvisational risk — a hallmark of Argue’s creative voice.
For local concertgoers, the performance also reflects the city’s deepening engagement with contemporary jazz. Gusman Concert Hall, a frequent host for Frost Wind Ensemble and Frost Symphony Orchestra events, has become a space where innovation and tradition intersect — an ideal backdrop for Argue’s sound world.
