Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University Jazz Ensemble: Appointment in Milano

by Jack Bowers
November 24, 2006

Another commendable album of straight-ahead big band jazz courtesy of Jazz Ensemble 1 at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, this time with special guest Bobby Watson, a superb alto saxophonist who supervises the Jazz Studies program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Unlike its earlier studio date, Hour of the Pearl, director Arthur White's ensemble is reasonably well-served by the recorded sound, which adds substantially to one's enjoyment of the enterprise. Even though the outcome is still a long ...