For the noted large-ensemble jazz composers who came together to conduct and play the music of mentor and compatriot Jim McNeely, it wasn’t just another night on the bandstand. This special program, “Celebrating Jim McNeely: Big Band and Friends,” was deeply personal. McNeely himself was in attendance, visible in the front row of the DiMenna Center in midtown Manhattan. He was slightly reclined, in failing health, yet able to delight in the sound of a jaw-dropping big band playing nine pieces carefully selected in consultation with the maestro himself. Jim McNeely had much to do with this historical development as well.