Photo by Lindsay Beyerstein

On Tuesday, March 23rd, Darcy James Argue’s acclaimed 18-piece big band Secret Society will perform two sets at New York’s Jazz Standard as part of Hot and Cool: 40 Years of Jazz at NEC, a week-long series of concerts celebrating the 40th anniversary of New England Conservatory’s groundbreaking jazz program. Argue, who earned a Master’s Degree in Music Composition from NEC in 2002, is among a select group of high-profile alumni and faculty headlining events at various clubs around New York from March 20th through March 27th, with proceeds going to support jazz scholarships.

“I hold my studies with Bob Brookmeyer at NEC responsible for enabling my big band habit in the first place,” says Argue. “Having access to musicians like George Russell, Lee Hyla, Ran Blake, and George Garzone—being able to pick their brains on a regular basis—made for a highly stimulating creative environment, but no less important were the musical partnerships I forged with my peers. Many of those collaborations continue to this day—NEC is where I first encountered Secret Society co-conspirators Josh Sinton and Sebastian Noelle.”

Secret Society has been Argue’s exclusive outlet as a bandleader since the so-called steampunk big band’s May 2005 debut at the iconic rock club, CBGB. The genre-defiant ensemble’s 2009 release, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records), made Argue one of the year’s most talked about jazz musicians and earned a spot on more than 70 best-of lists, including Best Debut honors in the prestigious Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll. In addition to widespread attention within the jazz world, he has been profiled on National Public Radio (NPR), as well as in publications such as Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal, and the band’s June concert in Philadelphia was the subject of a recent episode of WHYY’s On Canvas. Learn more about Argue and Secret Society at http://secretsociety.typepad.com