Bernie,
I will always look at music with simplicity -- The feeling often gets lost with all the added theories.

My two thoughts:
1- I have been listening to music for a long time -- I do know, from my point of view, how the music should sound.
2- Experiment -- listen and then decide and listen again.

If I voice with another person’s feeling I will not be me. What I play, be it accepted or not, is me – in that I find the best of me that is possible.

I am in a church of 15,000, 4,000 in the branch I attend. I no longer see violins or brass or reeds. I do see a high end Yamaha and Roland keyboards.
They cover all the empty areas, fill in the emotional parts. It is my opinion that they do it poorly. When I listen again with the ears of a younger person it sound good. So you see we do know what is good or bad, what will compliment the big band sound and what will not. Trust in Bernie, he does know.

IMHO, John C.