The Metropolitan Jazz Octet picks up the mantle of Chicago saxophonist, composer and arranger, Tom Hilliard with music ranging from jazz of the 1920’s through the 1970’s. In 1959, the original group recorded an album on the Argo label called “The Legend of Bix,” a tribute one of the most influential jazz soloists in the early history of jazz, Bix Beiderbecke. In the past several years, Hilliard’s octet has been been revisited by a new generation of musicians,

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With the support of the Non-Profit Jazz Artist Resource these eight musicians started exploring Tom Hilliard’s library in 2014, and has since expanded with new works by MJO members contributing a 'new spirit of jazz' to Tom's legacy.