Welcome to Gaia! ::

i personally like both, but if i had to choose, i would choose big band, for the following reasons:

1. i can show off in front of more people cool
2. big band requires big, sweet arrangements! blaugh
3. the combos that i've been in are just filled with snobby kids who think they can play jazz rolleyes
4. in my experience, big bands get better gigs
5. you get to chill with your own section in a big band (i chill with my fellow saxes)
6. the combos i've been in just read from fakebooks

I've rather play in a big band.
1.) The charts are so much sweeter and worth playing aka real charts
2.) You can pick the solos that you wanna do instead of playing praticely every solo.
3.) People have more talents and are willing to share their knowledge.
4.) More people to chill with
5.) Less snobs.

I played in a big band for 3 years before moving to a small town with only a combo. I miss playing with the kids who have been playing for 6, 7, 8 years and who aren't afraid to share their tips and ideas to those, like me, who have less experince. Plus with big bands, there are more trips and compitetions(sp?) to perform in.

exactly, guys. i'm not dissing combos or anything, but big bands seem a bit more fun to watch, also. 3nodding

Small combos.
It's more personal when there's only one musician to a part. It's not like you can slack off at all. You're actually important.
Everyone knows everyone else, and you become like a close family.

And from a managerial standpoint?
Getting a combo organized is much less of a paper-pusher's nightmare.

The only real con that I see is that, if just two or three people are missing, it's hard to have a productive practice.

Ummm... I like both. Big band stuff i like is things like benny goodman and his orchestra. And miles davis always had a neat band backing him up. The small combos sometimes follow the same pattern in the music: song, every1 solos, song. it gets a bit samish. luckily it doesnt happen all the time with the small bands. When u hear some crazy (a lot of notes) sax. solo u know some1 has been listening to john coltrane. cool cool cool

Well it is a smaller group and can convey more with using less. I kinda get scared when i play in one because if you mess up they can really hear you mess up. Still the places that groups like this can play at are more numerous and i should put one together but i dont have the time to arrange and write stuff.

I absolutely LOVE small combos. Everyone in it is so close, and the one I'm in we all cover up for eachother's mistakes. None of us look down on eachother, so that's not an issue. We're a little close-knit family..<3

And true, there is more room for solos and if you listen you can distinguish each and every instrument instead of the blend you sometimes get with a big band, I'm content with that too.

In both, I'm content with the music I play. Solos are fun as far as I'm concerned, but I don't expect to get them too often, so that's not an issue either. I gotta' admit, big bands are more interesting to watch.