Schapiro 17 - Best Laid Plans (2026)

Critically Acclaimed Jon Schapiro and his Schapiro 17 Deliver Again! Throughout these nine compositions, Schapiro creates a rich diversity of background material that supports the soloists, and that background material is remarkable, too, often bursting into the foreground in surprising ways.
GENRE: Jazz/Large Jazz Ensemble
COMPOSERS: Jon Schapiro, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Scott Joplin, John Coltrane
In Jon’s music, foreground and background materials frequently interact in complex and surprising ways, and the improvised solos … well, you’ll need to listen!
You’ll be surprised, perhaps, by the unity of all the pieces on this CD. Each is a piece of a larger whole. Jon creates a sound-world all his own. In other words, he’s creating ART.
Schapiro composed three of the nine pieces and created marvelous arrangements of music by other composers for the other six. Like Duke Ellington’s and Gil Evans’ music, Jon Schapiro’s music is sui generis. Their bands each sound the pure ‘voice’ of a musician who both has composed and arranged music to produce a very singular and easily recognized “sound”. And, all three wrote or are writing music that remains within yet pushes boundaries. All three also allow soloists the freedom to express themselves.
Jon’s musical scores often tap freely into earlier traditions — some of them bumping shoulders in a single arrangement. Some of his arrangements are tight and some are quite open and free. Also, Jon gives his improvising soloists sufficient time to work out and extend their ideas.
Two-thirds of the superb musicians on this recording have been with Schapiro since he got started back in 2012, played their first gigs in 2014, and appear on both New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60 (Summit 756) and Human Qualities (Summit 775). Six more are on their first recording with the band: stellar players who have come through when needed.