Oscar Utterstrom, “The Bigger Picture”: The jazz album that will take you elsewhere

Nashville, TN-maybe the city isn’t a thought for immediate associationwith jazz-but here comes Oscar Utterstrom to refresh our view on the heartbeat of this southern musical hub. With the new album, The Bigger Picture, out now since October 18, 2024, listeners are allowed togive in to this skillfully designed jazz, saturated with feeling and brilliant musicianship, told in a newer and refreshing manner through the power of music.

As trombonist and composer, Utterstrom gathered a powerhouse group including Molly Parden on vocals, Doug Mosher on tenor sax, Matt Endahl on piano, Jon Estes on bass and cello and Josh Hunt on drums. Estes, who recorded and mixed the album, as well, provided the string arrangements on Happiness, an emotional centerpiece on the album.

This album features all originals, save one unlikely yet very fitting jazz arrangement of the hit I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing from the pen of Diane Warren. Perhaps most collaborative for the lyrical work throughout this album is the writer Wayne Moore who states, “Utterstrom’s melodies are deeply personal and transformative; pushing new places within Moore’s own work as a lyricist.”.

With The Bigger Picture, Utterstrom invites us into his world-one of beauty, complexity, and with its twists of surprise. Not a jazz album per se but a journey; so strap on your head to the headphones, close your eyes, and hold on tight as this may just take you elsewhere.