Winthrop University

Winthrop University: Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble

by Jack Bowers
November 1, 1999

The Winthrop University Jazz Ensemble, based in Rock Hill, South Carolina, shares its first–ever recording with the school’s Symphonic Band. I’d heard the Jazz Ensemble, under director Phil Thompson, at last year’s UNC–Charlotte Jazz Festival and was duly impressed. I wish I could say that I was as impressed by the album, but to be honest, it’s so poorly recorded that the band’s proficiency is invariably subverted by the dismal sound quality. That’s a shame, because from what one can ...