The YSU All-Star Alumni Jazz Ensemble

The YSU All-Star Alumni Jazz Ensemble: Celebration

by Jack Bowers
July 1, 1998

Director Tony Leonardi and his colleagues have established an excellent Jazz Studies program at Ohio's Youngstown State University, many of whose distinguished alumni returned in 1994 for an all-star big-band concert to help mark the 125th anniversary of the university's Dana School of Music. The concert was recorded and released on disc as Celebration. This really is an all-star ensemble, its members having logged time with the likes of Buddy Rich, Tommy Dorsey, Louie Bellson, Tommy Flanagan, the Thad Jones/Mel ...