Celebrating its 20th year, three recordings, and hundreds of public appearances, Project 9 is the small band with a big punch and endless intensity.

"The attentive and hard working Pro 9 attacks the charts and packs the air with excitement" 

-Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat

"Marshall Vente wears all his hats with equal flair: keyboardist, composer, arranger, even DJ (he hosts a Brazilian-music program on WDCB).  He also leads five ensembles on a regular basis, but this little big band, now in its 20th year, is the granddaddy.  Don't let the name fool you: it's really Vente's Project Nine Plus (originally a nonet, it's since grown to an even dozen), gussied up with premillennial nomenclature.  Lately the Project has been performing less and less frequently, due to the expense and logistics of booking a large group.  That's a shame, but it makes sightings of the ensemble all the more noteworthy.  Vente's compositions balance the deep hues of Thad Jones, the pastels of Gil Evans (with whom Vente studied), and the neon flares of fusion and pop.  He hasn't written any music especially for this occasion, but he could easily delve into the Project's brimming book to program pieces it hasn't played in ten or twelve years, and they'd sound brand new to most of us".

-Neal Tesser,  Chicago Reader "Critic's Choice 

"The mostly youngish crowd not only packed the house, but rocked and swayed to the music of Chicagoan Marshall Vente and his Project Nine band.  Even the spikiest, least danceable numbers held this audience rapt; clearly the performers and listeners were speaking the same language."

Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune Music Critic

"Pianist Marshall Vente's little big band, Project 9, incorporated reggae and soul to invigorating effect."

-Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun Times reviewing the '97 Chicago Jazz Festival

"Whether punching out rich swing harmonies or stripping down to an unusual instrumentation such as classical guitar angainst flutes, his arrangements breathe in a uniquely rewarding way.  Having fine tuned his rock music instincts as a student of the late Gil Evans, he is able to introduce Frank Dawson's wailing rock guitar and his own electronic keyboard touches into the mix without diminishing the band lightness afoot."

-Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun Times reviewing the '88 Chicago Jazz Festival

"From the land of the Cubs, White Sox and a a whipping wind comes an arranger with an original, brainy approach to standards, non standards and an original or two.  It's Vente's fresh touch as composer arranger and leader that separates this from the pack."

-Lee Jaske, Cashbox

"Marshall Vente, one of the most inventive arranger/composers in the country, keeps on writing.  Over the last decade.  Vente has crafted the Project into a flexible and powerful tool for his writing, and together they produce some of the city's most exciting music."

-Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader, "Critic's Choice"