A band that is the size of an orchestra, usually playing mostly jazz or swing music. The big band typically features both ensemble and solo playing, sometimes has a lead singer, and is often located in a night club where the patrons may dance to its music. The big bands were popular from the late 1920's to the 1940's. Contrasted with combo, which has fewer players.
A style of orchestral jazz that surfaced in the 1920s and blossomed as popular music during the Swing Era (1935–50). Also: any ensemble that played this type music (i.e., a band consisting of a brass, woodwind, and rhythm section that played carefully orchestrated arrangements).
a term used to describe the swing band of the 1930's and 1940's, which consisted of usually ten to fifteen instruments, although it could be a larger ensemble.
a large dance or jazz band usually featuring improvised solos by lead musicians
An ensemble of greater than ten or so players. The standard is around seventeen.
Large jazz ensemble popular in 1930s and 1940s, featuring sections of trumpets, trombones, saxophones (and other woodwinds), and rhythm instruments (piano, double bass, drums and guitar).
A jazz ensemble of 12 to 20 members, consisting of a rhythm section plus sections of trumpets, trombones and saxophones.
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from 1935 until the late 1940s. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 19 musicians and contains saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. The terms jazz band, jazz ensemble, stage band, jazz orchestra, and dance band are also used to refer to this type of ensemble.