Jazz Articles about University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One

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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 ...

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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 ...

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University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One: Games

by Jack Bowers
May 1, 1999

Mark my word, the day of the big band will return. The reason I say that is because music this good can’t remain unnoticed or unappreciated forever. With Jazz Studies programs proliferating and the number of young people in college ensembles increasing, it stands to reason that one of the by–products would be a larger and more well–informed audience for the music itself. Hasn’t happened yet, but it’s bound to. And when it does, superlative young ensembles such as UNI’s ...