Jazz Articles about Drake University

Drake University Jazz Ensemble 1: Latenight at the Mainstay: Return to Nowhere

by Jack Bowers
May 7, 2005

While this isn't the first album by the Drake University Jazz Ensemble (there have been at least two others), it is the first to be recorded at “home in the university's jazz-linked Mainstay building, hence the album's title. The album was actually taped during a few late-night sessions in May '04 at the Mainstay, which is being converted into a state-of-the-art recording studio. The results, says director Andrew Classen, “exceed[ed] all of our expectations.

This despite the fact that Classen ...

The Drake University Jazz Ensemble One: Rush Hour

by Jack Bowers
March 1, 2001

If there were any lingering doubts after Waxwing, its impressive debut album, that the Drake University Jazz Ensemble is ready for prime time, those misgivings are quickly laid to rest on Rush Hour, which underlines the Des Moines, Iowa–based band’s status as one of the country’s up–and–coming college–level Jazz ensembles. Director Andrew Classen has clearly worked hard to sculpt his underclassmen into a single–minded unit, and the effort has paid handsome dividends (for a conspicuous example, listen to the awesome ...