Person

Argue, Darcy James

1975-

Darcy James Argue was born on May 23, 1975, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

He is a Canadian jazz composer and bandleader known for his work with his 18-piece ensemble, Secret Society. He studied at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec (1993–1998), and, in 2000, he moved to the U.S. to study composition at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, Massachusetts, with jazz composer Bob Brookmeyer. In 2003, Argue moved to Brooklyn, New York. In 2005, he founded Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, an 18-piece big band. In 2009, they released the first studio album. “Infernal Machines,” and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and a Juno Award nomination in Canada for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year. It was recognized multiple times in the Down Beat magazine Critics' Poll and included on annual lists at The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Paste, and the Ottawa Citizen. The Society's second album, “Brooklyn Babylon” (2013), received Grammy and Juno Award nominations. It won the top positions for Arranger and Big Band in the 2013 Down Beat Critics' Poll and was named Best Album of 2013 by The New Republic. Their third album, "Real Enemies" (2016), created as part of a multimedia performance, received another Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. In September 2023, the Society released their fourth album, “Dynamic Maximum Tension,” and received the group's fourth Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.

Argue is the recipient of grants and fellowships from New Music USA, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the MacDowell Colony.