Our Story

Big Beat was founded in 2014 by four (let’s be honest) jazz geeks: Caleb Rumley, Ryan Tomski, Phil Engsberg, and Charlie Dougherty. All four had a passion for composing and arranging music. They had plenty of music from their recitals and school band performances, but they needed their own band to really play the music right.

At our very first meeting in a smoky bar, the name Big Beat was settled on pretty quickly. With such a rambunctious name, the quartet knew they needed a singer. Instrumental jazz albums are fun – but singers always take bands to the next level.

At the time, Caleb and Allison had only been dating for about 6 months. They were hesitant to add a musical aspect to this fledgling relationship. What if it didn’t work out? What if Allison’s voice was a bad fit? That could lead to some uncomfortable conversations for the young couple.

As it so happens there was a last minute need for a vocalist and Caleb called Allison in a panic… “Could you just come to one rehearsal?” Allison agreed and she shared some of her music with the four arrangers. Charlie created an incredible arrangement of “I’ll Be Burning for You” which is still in our rotation today. 

The group needed a gig. Caleb’s connections in the church music world led him to a concert promoter who put together a concert in the Paterson Museum. Minutes before the gig, the promoter asked for WHAT the band was. Caleb said we sounded good. He replied – feels good! He wrote down, “sounds good, feels good” on note card and that became our ethos ever since.

The band swiftly got into the studio by asking their teachers to help lend a hand… namely jazz legend Cecil Bridgewater. Cecil produced our first EP in 2014 and we are incredibly blessed to have had him on our side. Caleb and Allison also had the treat of having lunch with him regularly during Caleb’s “lessons” which were a crash course in writing, arranging, bandleading, and being a good person.

The band worked tirelessly for four years at a local bar called Hat City Kitchen. That gig turned into a four-year residency which brought together hundreds of musicians in the North Jersey / NYC area. They brought world-class musicianship to that little club, bringing in exciting guest artists like Duane Eubanks, Rich Perry, and Freddie Hendrix.

They slowly gathered enough material to create a second release. In 2017, the group recorded live at Brave New Radio 88.7. A young ‘n fresh Big Beat takes on classic tunes by D’Angelo, the Jackson 5, and our first recording of “I Wanna Talk With You”.

These two DIY releases were a start, but the bandleaders and Allison particularly wanted something more professional, something that showed their growth as a band. In 2018, the group launched a Kickstarter campaign that would go on to raise $10,000 for the groups debut album release, Sounds Good, Feels Good.

We hired our mentor Pete McGuinness to produce the album. We can’t speak highly enough of Pete McGuinness. Pete is a Brooklyn-based bandleader who has risen to prominence with his group, The Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra. He produced our recording session and his experience helped make the album a success. Pete is a brilliant arranger, trombonist, and bandleader — and having him at the session just made it happen! 

This album was the first time we really hammered in the vocals. This album had seven vocal tracks, so Allison had a lot of work to do. We reached out to vocalist Denise Renee, also known as Stout, to vocal produce the album. We were so lucky to have her on our side! Denise has toured the world as a supporting vocalist for Alicia Keys. This experience allowed her to perform with greats like Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Missy Elliott and so many more. It was amazing to work with her!

So much was changing in the world of Big Beat around the time of this release. Caleb and Allison had gotten married back in 2016, and riiiight around the release of the debut album Allison gave birth to our daughter, Billie. 

It was stressful, to say the least. Having a newborn at home and trying to coordinate an album launch was one of the craziest things we’ve ever done. And to be honest with you, the album kind of bombed. We only sold a handful of copies and it wasn’t exactly the “silver bullet” we had hoped for. We did get a few great reviews (including one in a Japanese magazine??!) and it wasn’t a total loss – but it was hard to see the album launch combust.

There were ups and downs after the album released. We had a few shows just completely bomb, including a CD release party scheduled that the club cancelled. (That wasn’t the only one that bombed but – you get the picture). But one of our mantra’s became never quit. Never quit. It seems simple, but with such a complicated project it goes a long way.

We wanted to get on with the video revolution and planned a video shoot at band member Sam Tobias’ dad’s house. That led to One Take and some of our awesome social videos of the band jamming in a kitchen. 

Shortly after that we recorded One Take Volume 2, just before the pandemic. Videos from that session have been released and the final EP is going live in 2022.

The pandemic was a super weird time for big bands, and a lot of depressing music was made. We actually managed to record and release five quarantine jams which is frankly amazing looking back at that tumultuous time. You can see one of them here, which featured Stout on vocals! We also recorded, mixed and released A Very Big Beat Christmas AND raised $1,000 for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey!

As the quarantines began to fade and large ensembles made their slow return, Big Beat got the band together for a series of shows in 2022. These shows culminated in headlining the Stone Pony in August, 2022. 

In September 2022 the band recorded two brand new singles which will be released in 2023. Keep an eye on our website for more details!

Around this time, some of the founding members of the band, Charlie Dougherty, Ryan Tomski, and Phil Engsberg left the project to focus on their own pursuits. While it was hard to lose these core members of the group, their music lives on and we will continue performing their arrangements and compositions. 

Looking to the future, Caleb and Allison will be leading Big Beat Big Band in a place where few big bands have ever gone before – a funky, grooving place that YOU want to be in.