Jazz Articles

Mt. Hood Jazz Band and Combo 2007: I'm Still Here

by Ken Dryden
February 7, 2008

There is a certain level of expectation for student bands, but the music from this all-star group belies its members' tender years. Their ensembles are tight and the soloists play at a very high level. The Mt. Hood Jazz Band--well-directed by Susie Jones and consisting of musicians from the Pacific Northwest--performed at the 2007 IAJE Conference with guests Nancy King, Thara Memory and Stan Bock, and then were able to go into the studio with them, though most of the ...

Texas Tech University Jazz Ensemble One: Glimmer of Night & Day

by Edward Blanco
January 2, 2008

Their second album for the Sea Breeze label, Glimmer of Night & Day by the Texas Tech University Jazz Ensemble One, is every bit as good as their 1998 Grammy-nominated debut,Seein' the Light...Hearin' the Hub-Tones. Though the Jazz Studies program at the West Texas city of Lubbock-based university is now under the direction of renowned saxophonist Brad Leali, this recording took place with Professor Alan Shinn at the helm.

Featuring Austin jazz legend Tony Campise on ...

Mt. Hood Jazz Band & Combo 2006: My Foolish Heart

by Jack Bowers
December 22, 2006

The Mt. Hood Jazz Band is best described as an anomaly--a community college ensemble that doesn't play like one. Director Susie Jones must be given at least partial credit for that. I'd say “You're doin' a heckuva job, Susie, but there's no telling where that could lead.

Seriously, these young musicians--most of them home-grown in Oregon--are in tip-top form on the school's third impressive album in roughly the last two years, all under Jones' astute direction. Eight selections are performed ...

University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One: Destination Unknown

by Jack Bowers
November 25, 2006

This is the fourteenth album in my library by the University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One--and the fourth under director Chris Merz, who succeeded the legendary Bob Washut nearly five years ago. As always, the repertoire is eclectic, touching a number of bases from Ellington/Strayhorn, Fletcher Henderson and Cole Porter to Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and such contemporary standouts as Kim Richmond and Jim McNeely. There are two fresh compositions by Merz, another ("Beautiful in Blue ) by ensemble ...

Mt. Hood Jazz Band & Combo 2006: My Foolish Heart

by Jim Santella
November 15, 2006

Located just outside of Portland, Oregon in the shadow of Mount Hood, Mt. Hood Community College offers courses in jazz improvisation, music theory, harmony, and ear training. Then, there's the course that everybody wants to spend a few years with: jazz ensemble.

For quite some time now, the school has been able to boast about its superb jazz ensemble. This is the group's third album in two years. Director Susie Jones sure knows how to get the most ...

Temple University Jazz Ensemble: Room 323

by Edward Blanco
December 17, 2005

Performing regularly in the Philadelphia area, the Temple University Jazz Ensemble, led by Terell Stafford, has just come out with its first album of six standards and two student-penned original charts. Not your typical college orchestra, the TUJE is a small seven-piece ensemble that plays with the energy of a full-size big band and the tightness of a small combo. The album derives its name from Stafford's studio number at the university's Boyer College of Music and Dance. The album's ...

Western Michigan University Jazz Orchestra: Boogaloo Land

by Edward Blanco
December 16, 2005

A three-time winner of Downbeat magazine's annual student music awards in the college big band category, the Western Michigan University Jazz Orchestra offers a riveting and exciting performance with its sixth impressive album. Due credit must be given to Trent Kynaston and Scott Cowan, who together have directed and produced a dynamic album of uncommon standards and originals. 32 student musicians participated in this endeavor, splitting the playing time on the eleven tracks. Also featured on this recording is the ...

Mt. Hood Jazz Band 2005: Super Blue

by Edward Blanco
December 9, 2005

Super Blue is a superb big band recording from a community college with a major jazz education program. Based in Oregon, the Mt. Hood Community College jazz band has a history of excellence which includes winning top honors at numerous jazz festivals throughout the country. The school's alumni have shared the stage with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Buddy Rich, Mel Torme, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, and many other jazz legends. This 2005 edition is an eighteen-piece big band of ...

University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One: Memento

by Jack Bowers
October 28, 2005

Good as the University of Northern Iowa's Jazz Band One is--and trust me, it's amazingly good--the first thing one notices about the group's most recent album, Memento, is how remarkably bright and clear the recording is. This is how a big band should sound on a disc, with soloists and sections evenly balanced and sharply defined, and exactly the right amount of resonance added to lend an agreeably “live presence.

The music itself, as is customarily true of the UNI ...

The University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One: The Unlikely Event

by Jack Bowers
February 7, 2005

In spite of this one's title, a new album by the University of Northern Iowa's Jazz Band One is hardly an unlikely event. This is the eleventh in my collection, and I may have overlooked one or two. Nine were directed by Bob Washut, the two most recent by his successor, Chris Merz, who, like Washut, relishes moving things around, marrying various styles and eras and generally keeping his students on their collective toes.

The multi-faceted concert (everything was recorded ...