Scott Gwinnell Dectet

The Scott Gwinnell Dectet was a solution born out of a problem. The Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe wanted the 16-piece Jazz Orchestra to play a week their Grosse Pointe Farms establishment. There was no conceivable way of fitting everyone in the club so we agreed to scale down the group to 10 people.

To make the gig special, musician/ arrangers Pat Prouty, Duncan McMillan, James Hughes, Bobby Streng, and myself wrote multiple arrangements on the compositions of jazz trumpeter, Lee Morgan. Morgan's hard-bop sound is really transferable to the Detroit sound, and the musicians had no problem conceptualizing it.

The gig was a great success and they returned a year later to celebrate the music of Kenny Dorham and Joe Henderson. At this point the Dectet was being invited to play other clubs and festivals. Engagements at Jazzin' on Jefferson, Detroit Jazz Festival, and Grosse Pointe Village Concert Series have been recent activities.

The Dectet continues to play at Cliff Bells Jazz Club, every last Thursday of the month, performing repertoire of Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson & Kenny Dorham, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Clare Fischer, and of the leader, Scott Gwinnell.