Dan Pugach | Bianca | Album
Outside In Music is honored to release Bianca: Music for Paws and Persistence, GRAMMY-nominated drummer/composer Dan Pugach’s second album as a leader, on March 8, 2024.
This is an extraordinary big band jazz project that finds its inspiration in a most unexpected place: animal rescue. Inspired by his own pitbull Bianca and fueled by his passion for animal rescue, Pugach masterfully draws upon his personal experiences to compose these works.
Dan began rescuing and fostering pitbulls in 2009. “The poor looking dogs were so sad and desperate. Nobody wanted them. I had nothing but time as I was just starting out as a musician in New York City,” he said. Leveraging his network, he found permanent homes for these dogs.
There was one dog that changed his life: A beautiful blond pitbull who wouldn’t even look up, yet she was gentle and calm. Dan took her in and housed the dog, who he named Bianca. She became a family member and eventually a band member – attending gigs and recording sessions. In one laughable moment, Bianca relieved herself during one of Dan’s drum solos at the 55bar.
Inspired by his companion, Dan wrote the title composition in her honor. He wrote the melody to match Bianca’s memorable and gentle demeanor. When Bianca passed in 2019, he rewrote the piece for big band, and it won the Charlie Parker Composition Prize and Manny Albam Commission for Big Band. This recognition helped catalyze Dan to turn his dog-inspired work into this honorific album.
Bianca is Pugach’s second album as a leader, and it’s his first with a big band — an expansion of his nonet. His first album featured his rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” which garnered him a GRAMMY nomination.
He wrote “Tolerance,” for the Many Albam Commission. The tune’s topsy-turvy meter — 11/8 to 5/4, back and forth — reflects the uncertainty of the pandemic. “I wrote the music to be played just like we did at 55 Bar, and all the gigs,” Pugach explains; he wanted the music to be charged with a live, working-band feel.
“Bella the Bear” pays homage to the pitbull mix that Pugach and his wife, Zuraitis, rescued in a difficult condition. The way Pugach worked through her anxiety could apply to a big band: “I gave her a little more trust, and a little more freedom,” he says. (Today, “she’s so chilled.”)
The DNA of “Masa” dates back to the nonet days; Pugach rearranged and reorchestrated it for the big band, and it became a flagship piece of his. And regarding his Israeli heritage — Pugach moved to America in 2006 — it’s something of an immigration story.
Much like “Masa,” “Schleppin’” is autobiographical; when Pugach landed in New York, he found work for a moving company, while scrambling for gigs.
Zuraitis wrote “Travel.” Despite the quality of the composition, and the obvious marital connection, Pugach was unsure about its inclusion, based on his arrangement. But plenty of friends disagreed with him — as it connects it to his identity as an immigrant who’s moved to and from ever since, “Travel” feels deeply personal.
“Dreams” is that “Dreams” — the Van Halen song, and it came from fan demand, on account of the band’s featuring of the Blue Angels in an attendant video. “This was celebrating this new, young pilot who got his golden wings,” he says.
Bianca ends with “Discourse This!”, whose earlier version appeared on Plus One — and acts as a withering rebuttal to overacademic jazz analysis. With that, Pugach crosses a Rubicon, into the big band world — and signals endless possibilities on the other side.
The album features alto saxophonist Andrew Gould; flutist and alto saxophonist Patrick Cornelius; tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Jeremy Powell; tenor and baritone saxophonist and clarinetist Eitan Gofman; and bass clarinetist and baritone and bass saxophonist Andrew Hadro.
In the trumpet section are Sam Hoyt, David Smith, Stuart Mack, and Dave Adewumi; the trombonists are Mike Fahie, Alan Ferber, Jasim Perales, and Jen Hinkle.
Rounding out the ensemble are pianist Nitzan Gavrieli, guitarist Pete McCann, acoustic bassist Sam Weber, and vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, who Grammy nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2024.
“It’s original music that comes from my experience as a dog lover,” Pugach concludes. “It’s a natural outgrowth.” Together, these eight songs comprise not just an inspired offering: they signal one of the first times big band music has become a beacon for animal rescue.
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