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From Stadium Rock to Big Band Jazz: Aaron Spiers Announces Debut Album with The Aaron Spiers Jazz Orchestra

After touring the world on some of rock's biggest stages, bassist, composer, and arranger Aaron Spiers is embarking on an entirely new musical chapter with the debut album from The Aaron Spiers Jazz Orchestra, a contemporary jazz orchestra that blends modern composition, adventurous improvisation, and cinematic orchestration.

The album, scheduled for release on September 4, 2026, presents a fresh voice in modern large ensemble jazz. Featuring original music by Aaron Spiers and acclaimed vibraphonist Nick Mancini, alongside reimagined works by Clifford Brown and Antonio Carlos Jobim, the record draws equally from the traditions of jazz and the energy of contemporary music.

Before turning his focus to composition, Spiers spent more than a decade touring internationally as a bassist, performing in over 27 countries and sharing stages with artists including KISS, Aerosmith, Slash, Deep Purple, Bush, and The Darkness, while appearing at major festivals such as Download Festival, Reading & Leeds, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Aftershock, Louder Than Life, and Monsters of Rock. That experience continues to shape his writing, bringing the scale, dynamics, and intensity of arena performances into a modern jazz orchestra setting.

The album was born during a pivotal period in Spiers' life. A serious illness temporarily brought his performing career to a halt, unexpectedly creating the time and space to write the music that would become this debut recording. What began as a difficult chapter ultimately became a creative turning point, resulting in an album that reflects resilience, optimism, and a renewed artistic direction.

"For years I was focused on performing. Being forced away from the stage gave me the opportunity to develop a completely different creative voice. This album is the culmination of that journey and represents everything I've wanted to say as a composer and arranger." — Aaron Spiers

Recorded with an international roster of musicians from the United States and Australia, the project features soloists Mat Jodrell (trumpet), Nick Mainella (tenor saxophone), Luke Malewicz (trombone), Harry Mitchell (Rhodes), Sarah Maud (vocals), Kenny Reichert (guitar), Nick Mancini (vibraphone), Davi Melo (nylon-string guitar), and Tommy Poole (alto saxophone), alongside a world-class large ensemble.

Blending contemporary harmony, powerful grooves, lyrical writing, and sophisticated orchestration, the album explores a modern approach to the big band tradition while remaining deeply rooted in the spirit of jazz.

The Aaron Spiers Orchestra will celebrate the album's release with its debut live performance on Friday, September 11, 2026, at The Lowdown in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The concert will feature music from the new album performed by an all-star orchestra of musicians from across the region.

Pre-sale links: https://aaronspiersjazzorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/human-music

Listen: Full Album Stream

Album Info:

Ensemble name: The Aaron Spiers Jazz Orchestra

Album title: Human Music

Release date: September 4th, 2026

Record Label: Independent

Run time: 53 minutes

Genre: Big Band, Composer’s Orchestra, Modern Jazz.

Produced and mixed by Aaron Spiers.

Mastered by Jesse Stack of Moss St Productions

All arrangements by Aaron Spiers.

All compositions by Aaron Spiers except The Edge of Autumn and Tulsa Tippin’ written by Nick Mancini, If You Never Come To Me (Inútil Paisagen) written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and LaRue written by Clifford Brown.

Short Bio:

Aaron Spiers is an electric bassist, composer, and arranger originally from Australia and now based in the United States. A versatile musician working across jazz and rock, Aaron has toured internationally performing in over twenty-seven countries and supporting artists including KISS, Aerosmith, Slash, Deep Purple, and The Darkness. Aaron has also released five solo albums and writes music for big band, concert band, and orchestra. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Jazz) with Honours from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Long bio:

Aaron Spiers is an electric bassist, composer, and arranger. Originally from Australia, Aaron has lived and worked in Australia, the United Kingdom, and now the United States. While he has performed across many musical styles, his work focuses primarily on jazz and rock idioms.

Aaron was a member of the UK-based heavy rock trio RavenEye, touring internationally and performing in over twenty-seven countries. With the band, he played major rock festivals and completed headline and support tours around the world. RavenEye supported artists including KISS, Aerosmith, Slash, Deep Purple, and The Darkness, and performed at festivals such as Louder Than Life (USA), Aftershock (USA), Download (UK), Reading & Leeds (UK), Shiprocked (USA), Rock am Ring & Rock im Park (Germany), Monsters of Rock (Brazil & Argentina), Stock (Finland), La Isla del Blues Festival (Spain), Series Z (Spain), Plovdiv Rock Festival (Bulgaria), and Mother of All Rock Festival (Mexico).

While based in the UK, Aaron also performed across Europe with recording artist Kim Wilde. Aaron has self-produced five solo albums spanning styles from heavy rock to acoustic and jazz, featuring numerous world-class musicians. Alongside his performing career, he has developed an active practice as a composer and arranger, writing for brass band, concert band and big band.

In 2024 and 2025, Aaron was commissioned by the University of Tulsa Big Band to arrange three works for orchestra, including two compositions by Nick Mancini and a baritone saxophone feature originally performed by the Count Basie Orchestra. Aaron has also been commissioned by the Oklahoma State University to arrange the music of Kenny Reichert for concerts in the winter of 2027.

Aaron holds a Bachelor of Music (Jazz) with Honours from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in Perth. During this time, he performed with the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra and later joined the Australian Army Band as principal bassist and band arranger. While with the Army Band, he wrote concert arrangements for artists including John Williamson, Kate Ceberano, and Marina Prior. He has also performed with Ben Lee and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.