The Baddest Big Band was established in 2022 in London, Ontario, as an opportunity to bring together some of the finest jazz musicians in the area to perform both classic and contemporary big band music at the highest possible level. The founding goal of bandleader Seth McNall was to create an ensemble capable of interpreting the diverse musical offerings that fall under the umbrella of the “big band,” from 1940’s and 50’s swing, to the innovations of the Stan Kenton and Basie bands of the 1960’s, through to the modern LA-sound of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Assembled from the best of the close-knit Southwestern Ontario jazz scene, the band can tailor it’s repertoire to any occasion, from traditional jazz festival sounds to the modern “standards” of the Beatles’ McCartney-Lennon songbook, to the rarely-performed complete Ellington-Strayhorn “Nutcracker Suite” and everything in between. With a core of players who have been gigging and playing together for over 30 years, the Baddest Big Band does it all - a new band with an old soul.