Maria Schneider

by Scott YanowMaria Schneider is widely thought of as a potentially great arranger who is following in the footsteps of Gil Evans (her main inspiration), George Russell, and Bob Brookmeyer. After extensive musical study, Schneider moved to New York in 1985 and from 1985-1988 was an assistant to Gil Evans. She has since conducted her music with a variety of European radio orchestras, written for the Mel Lewis big band, and received many commissions. Schneiders highly original music often falls between avant-garde jazz and modern classical.