Eddie Bruce Announces CD Launch Concert

Vocalist Eddie Bruce will present his new album, For Dreamers and Their Dreams, at a CD launch concert featuring the Ed Vezinho and Jim Ward Big Band at FringeArts in Philadelphia, PA, on Sunday, June 21, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. The concert marks the live presentation of Bruce’s most expansive recording to date and brings the album’s big band arrangements into a concert setting for the first time.

For Dreamers and Their Dreams is Bruce’s first full recording with a big band, a format he has long admired and worked with intermittently over the years. The album brings together Bruce with the Ed Vezinho and Jim Ward Big Band, a 17-piece ensemble with deep roots on the East Coast jazz scene. The project reflects a long creative relationship between Bruce and the two bandleaders, built through years of collaboration, guest appearances, and shared musical priorities.

Every track on the album features an arrangement by Ed Vezinho, whose work has long been central to Bruce’s repertoire. According to Bruce, Vezinho has developed a strong intuitive understanding of his phrasing, dynamics, and vocal style, and the album reflects that closeness. The arrangements are described as expansive and richly textured, with a wide dynamic range that allows Bruce to move between intimate ballads and more swinging, rhythm-driven material. The big band format also gives the singer room to shape each phrase within the structure of the arrangement, something Bruce has highlighted as one of the defining qualities of the project.

The album includes a mix of standards and one original composition, “Philly is the City,” co-written by Bruce with Tom Adams and James Guglielmo. The song is a tribute to Philadelphia and is the album’s only original title. Other selections include “Some Other Time,” “Charade,” “How High the Moon,” “Feelin’ Good,” “Pure Imagination,” and “What Kind of Fool Am I?,” each presented through Vezinho’s orchestration. Several arrangements developed from earlier trio versions written by pianist and arranger Dean Schneider before being expanded for big band.

Bruce has described the album title, For Dreamers and Their Dreams, as a reflection of a long-held ambition to make a big band record. The title is drawn from a lyric in “Here’s to Life,” and the project represents the fulfilment of a musical goal he has carried for many years. He also points to the collaborative nature of big band performance, where the singer functions as both storyteller and conversationalist within a larger ensemble framework.

The album was released on December 5 on all major streaming platforms. The official release of the physical CD edition coincides with the concert and is available exclusively through Bandcamp. For more information about the album, the concert, or press-related enquiries, contact Jan Fritz at Jazzmedia and More.

If you are in the Philadelphia area, tickets are available now at Eventbrite.